


Crafting Happiness

by Little_Aliens



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Bruce, Alpha Maria, Alpha Natasha, Alpha Steve, Alpha Thor (Marvel), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Attempted Kidnapping, Avengers are staff, Beta Clint Barton, Beta Loki, Beta Ned Leeds, Beta Peter, Beta Pietro, Beta Sam Wilson, Beta Wanda Maximoff, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mates, Omega Scott Lang, Omega Tony, Slow Burn, Steve and Bucky are Army Veterans, Tony Stark owns a craft store, Trauma, Will add characters and tags with new chapters, alpha bucky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 55,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27129619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Aliens/pseuds/Little_Aliens
Summary: Alternate title : Angry James and the Small BeanMissing more than just his left arm, James returns from the army and tries to get back into the flow of what his previous life had been with little success. The days are empty and his unused aggression, that was a necessity in the army, spills into his days intermittently making it hard for him to hold a job for longer than a couple weeks. His roommate, and long time best friend, Steve, returned from combat much earlier than him and has settled into a new life. James can't help but be jealous. Until one night, after saving an omega from being kidnapped, everything changes.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 90





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ABO story, here's to hoping it goes okay.

Stark Industries was often the first place most people went when looking for materials for a crafting project, but sometimes the last when it came to those looking for a job. The owner of the store, Tony Stark, was a picky omega who only wanted the best and most useful people in his store and didn’t discriminate based on second gender. He had talented painters, framers, wood burners, sculptors, illustrators, and many others that created masterpieces as well as directed people towards the embroidery thread. Some of his competitors likened him to more of a collector than a businessman. It was a busy enough craft store that had customers sneaking in minutes before closing and often kept the employee’s well past closing time. They didn’t seem to mind, but the same could not be said for anyone who was stuck outside waiting for their roommate to be done in order to go home.

The parking lot consisted of four vehicles, two with people inside and two that sat empty, waiting to be filled and driven home. James was sat grumbling in the driver's seat of his roommate’s beat up jeep, his own stuck in the shop after it had died on him the week before. His roommate, and best friend, Steve, worked most of the week and didn’t mind letting his friend use his car as long as he was there to pick him up at the end of his shift. It’d seemed like a nice arrangement at first, until James realized that most nights went long, as the holidays approached and people began to worry about gifts and crafts that needed certain items. The last two nights he’d been stuck in front of the store for an extra twenty minutes before Steve appeared with an apologetic grin.

His friend had gotten the job after going to the store himself and catching the eye of the store owner, who liked that he could jump in almost anywhere and be of use. As an Alpha it was somewhat rare, as most of them liked to get good at one thing and be on the top for that certain area, instead of dabbling in all of them. It didn’t hurt that he was a really nice guy who could calm down even the angriest of customers, James had been seeing it since they were kids.

It had the man in the car feeling somewhat bitter, as he now had this whole other work family and friends outside of just him, while James had nothing going for him. After they’d gotten out of the army days were often filled with nothing but wasted time or trying to find jobs that felt almost worthless following what they’d been through. Even more so for James, as he’d gotten captured by enemy troops and lost his left arm in the process. His journey to recovery had been full of anger and resentment, nightmares and flashbacks that tore away any peace he might’ve gained from returning home.

It was hard to keep, and find, a job that would allow him to release some of his energy without overstepping the boundaries. Steve had let him move in and was trying to find him a job as well, but so far nothing had lasted for more than a week and James was sick of it. Being a burden to his best and only friend, struggling though this new life with worries that seemed so trivial. Here, people worried about whether or not they would find a good mate and if their scents would clash or blend well together. If the food they’d gotten for Christmas would be okay, or what gifts would be best for someone who hated getting them. Or about rent, what their coworkers thought of them, how they were going to pay the bills, of they said something to offend, or whatever.

Everything had been much simpler when all he had to worry about was whether or not they would see the next day. Alpha, beta, or omega didn’t matter on the battlefield, bullets didn’t discriminate. This world was a chore.

Hearing a door open pulled James out of his dark thoughts as he turned suddenly towards the front of the store, only to sigh when a small girl walked into the dim light of the parking lot. She pulled her jacket closer to her skin as a breeze brushed at her hair slightly, her form moved towards an old grey car that was parked one lane away from him. He could see her shoulders hunch from the cold before she let out a deep breath, looking up at the moon for a moment before rummaging in her bag for her keys. He looked away, wondering faintly which department she worked in and why the store owner might have wanted her. 

Another door opened and closed and he looked up lazily to see that the man in the other vehicle, a black  suv , had left his car in order to approach the girl at hers. James almost sneered at the sight, having grown tired of seeing so many couples around him all the time, hugging, kissing, or holding hands. Almost as if they were rubbing it in his face, a happiness in their faces that he couldn’t achieve on his own. The girl looked surprised to see him, her body shifting backwards towards her car as she looked at him apprehensively.

It could be a fight that they were having. Perhaps the man had done something wrong and she wasn't returning his calls, or something. He mused about what might be happening, his eyes becoming unfocused and distant until a sudden rush of movement caught his attention fully. They were inches from each other now, and James almost groaned in dismay until he saw her attempt to push the man away in vain. He moved closed to her and blocked view from James who was now watching them intensely, it could very well still be two people who knew each other and she was playfully pushing him, but what if it wasn’t?

A second later he was pushing his door open and moving towards them slowly, listening for anything that sounded like words of protest, and then he heard it. A small, barely audible, keen that was muffled almost immediately leaked out from the two and James was suddenly on high alert. Instead of speaking right away, or rushing the man like his inner alpha was itching to do, James threw his door closed, loud enough to catch the attention of the other. The figure in front of him stiffened, seeming to stand taller and try to collect himself as much as possible before he responded. The army  veteran scented the air as it came upon him with the breeze and darkened at the smell of arousal from the male and fear from the female.

“I’m just here to pick up my wife,” the man finally spoke and James almost growled immediately at his somewhat shaky tone.

“She doesn’t even smell like you,” the veteran snapped back. The other Alpha smelled of sharp pepper and earth, and though the girl's scent was muted, probably on suppressants, she smelled faintly of citrus. Had they been mated, or even spent a lot of time together it would be hard to distinguish one from the other.

“I-I’m her uncle,” his story changed as he started to panic. He’d also began to move slightly again as he tried to contain the figure in front of him who, from the sound of it, was trying to break free. Another muffled sound had him leaning forwards to press the girl into her own car before the attempt to speak was cut off once again. He straightened up once more before moving towards the  suv slowly, as if James wasn’t there at all. That was enough for the  veteran to take action and he was soon in between the man and his escape with a dark glare on his face as he finally got to see what was happening.

The other alpha growled threateningly, tightening his grip on the girl and taking a tentative step backwards. One hand covered her mouth and nose while the other was wrapped tightly around her torso, holding her smaller body against his own in order to easily handle her. She looked dazed, with one of her arms clenching the back of her neck where a protective collar had been mostly torn off, and the other trying to pull the alpha’s hand from her mouth. Now that James was in front of them it was unmistakable that the girl was an omega, the collar, smaller stature, and scent slotted carefully into place and his inner alpha roared.

She was too small to fight him on her own and the other man knew it. He’d waited for her to be alone, followed her schedule enough to know when she was off work and jumped her. If James hadn't been here, if his car had never died on him, she would’ve easily been taken, whisked away before anyone knew that she was missing. The scent of terror, fear, and her car would be the only things to remain.

“She’s not going anywhere with you,” the  veteran seethed. He stared the man down with a bloodthirsty gaze that only intensified when the omega let out a muffled cry, a couple tears escaping her eyes. Another threatening step forward pushed the man back a step as James tried to figure out the best way to get her but not let him escape. “I’ll rip your throat out,” he threatened and the man paled.

The would-be abductor was smaller than James, only by an inch or two at most but also thinner. He was enough to deal with the omega, who the  veteran imagined was small and light enough to easily throw around, but the other alpha was another story. The army had hardened him, and though he was missing an arm it had been replaced by one that was made almost completely of metal that could easily crush bone. At some point, in the few moments that they stared at each other the smaller alpha must’ve come to the conclusion that there was a slim chance of him winning, or even getting away for that matter. Because in the next second, he was loosening his hold on her while lowering his head submissively, acknowledging who the stronger of them was. Slowly, he was letting her go, until the store door opened again and Steve walked into the picture.

In the time it took his roommate to freeze at the sight in front of him the other alpha roughly threw the omega towards the ground and away from himself before moving to escape. James lurched to grab her with one hand while reaching at the man with his other. Barely missing his jacket as he pulled her shaking body close to his.

“Don’t let him get away,” James shouted at his best friend. The other  veteran jumped into action and sprinted after the guy who had gotten a bit of a head start, but wasn’t something the other couldn’t catch up to.

The girl curled in on herself, moving both hands to cover her neck as the collar fell away and he moved them both towards the ground carefully. It was her scent, still laced with fear, that made him soften and stop growling as he looked her over carefully. There were bite marks on one of hands that had him seething all over again as he imagined the man trying to force a claim on her.

“You’re safe now,” he whispered to her. “He’s gone,  shhh ,” he hushed trying to soothe her. He’d never been the best at calming people down and instead relied on his pheromones to do the trick. As his scent spread her hands slid from her neck to clench in his jacket  while he shifted her to sit in between his legs so she was leaning against his chest. James had yet to clearly see her face but was unsurprised when the saltiness of tears filled the air and began to soak his clothes. 

Steve had disappeared from sight almost immediately, which left the two of them alone in the dim light of the parking lot. Her shaking and crying form slotted against his as he moved slowly to rub small, comforting, circles on her back. Nothing else needed to be said as her trembling body began to relax, though her hands stayed clenched in his clothes tightly, as if she was  scared he would leave her. It’d been a long time since he’d held an omega or had one fit so perfectly against him. The alpha in James wanted to pull her tightly against him but the  veteran knew better than to do that so soon after what she’d been through. 

A familiar, yet disgusting, peppery smell wafted by them and the girl froze while James growled at the offending alpha’s approach.

“I called the police,” Steve’s voice had him sighing in relief. “And the owner, he lives close by,” his friend explained. As he walked into the light, forcing the man in front of him, James saw that his friend had used the guy’s own jacket to tie his hands together behind his back and that a black eye was beginning to form on the left side of his scuffed-up face. Steve’s own scent dripped with venom as he took in the sight of the small girl in his friend’s care, she’d started shaking again and took panicked breaths as she pushed her face more into James’ chest.

There was a small cut above Steve’s left eyebrow, but he was otherwise uninjured as opposed to the other alpha who appeared to be limping as the other  vet eran pushed him this way and that. It was a good thing that his friend had been the one to chase him down instead, as the metal armed man wouldn’t have the same amount of control his friend did. The wretched alpha was lucky to still be conscious after what he’d done.

“Is Sunny okay?” Steve asked softly, nodding in the girl’s direction. She didn’t react to hearing her name and was still holding onto the front of his clothes as tightly as possible. James merely shook his head slightly in response, she wasn’t badly injured or anything, but he was sure the experience would haunt her for weeks. The responding grimace from his friend was exactly how James felt about the situation. “I’ll put him in the jeep,” he said before jerking the man away.

“So, your names Sunny?” James asked the girl softly. Her head nodded slightly against him after a few moments of silence and he started rubbing her back again soothingly. “My name is James, you know Steve, right?” Another small nod. “He has been my best friend since we were kids, he’s one of the strongest people I know. And with both of us here, right now, no one will be able to hurt you,” he assured her. The peppery scent had finally faded and as James’ words drifted off Sunny began to relax once more. Her frantic breathing returned to somewhat of a normal, while her shaking form now trembled only slightly. “Do you want to stand up?” She shook her head.

Steve walked closer to them, half way between the jeep and the two of them on the ground with his phone against his ear.

“There’s a manager in the store still,” he explained after James threw him a quizzical stare. Not even a minute later the door to the store opened again and an angry red-haired woman, giving off big alpha energy, rushed towards them with a face so livid she could breathe fire if she wanted to.

“Where is the bastard?” She snarled.

“In my jeep, the police are on their way, I called Tony-,” she interrupted him.

“Who’s that?” She glared at James.

“My friend, he’s the one that stopped him,” he said. Her expression towards him softened a little, deep glare changing to one of thinly veiled disapproval. Though she must’ve noticed the way Sunny clung to him if her sigh of defeat was anything to go by.

“He’s the guy we banned from the store,” she seethed calling attention back to the captured alpha. “She hurt?” She asked in more of a hushed voice.

“Really shaken up-,” Steve mumbled before James turned his attention back on the omega in front of him. She’d barely moved since clinging on to him initially, though her body had finally stopped trembling and her pheromones had changed from terrified to distressed. 

“Tony’s going to destroy him,” the red head muttered while taking careful steps towards James and Sunny. Her scent flipped from rage to comfort as she crouched down to be closer to the omega. The poor girl still had her face pushed into her savior’s jacket as she breathed in his calming pheromones. As she reached her hand towards the girl’s shoulders James had the sudden urge to pull her away, but stopped when the smaller between them flinched. The managers face contorted into one of heartache and again resentment as she stood up to look at the figure in the jeep.

The approach of headlights caught their attention as a Cadillac sped into the parking lot followed by a police car with its sirens and lights blaring. Sunny tried to move closer to her savior as the noise suddenly invaded her senses, letting out a soft whine at its abruptness. James’ alpha flared up protectively, growling lowly at the car doors that flew open as soon as the fancy car stopped moving. A man, reeking of fury and distress launched himself from the vehicle before locking eyes with Steve and stomping over with wild eyes. From the other side of the car another man appeared and followed the first, with much the same emotions, save his scent leaned more towards worry than anything else. The cop was out next and tried to intercept them before one spoke.

“Is that him?” The first man’s voice was cold and eerie.

“Sir, do you have any idea how fast you were going?” The officer said sternly.

“Tony-,” the worried man started but was overpowered.

“I’m going to kill him!”

“Sir, calm down.”

“Officer, I can explain,” Steve tried to get the uniformed man’s attention.

James watched the craziness from the ground, as the owner of the store himself, had shown up as quickly as possible in order to help his employee. It was comforting, to see a group of people so angry and protective of one person and made him wonder if they would do the same for anyone who worked there. Would Steve get the same treatment if something happened to him? James was jealous, but at the same time wished they would shut up. All the noise wasn’t doing so well for the girl in his arms who had started to shake again.

“Steve, what did you see?”

“Let go of me, Bruce.”

“What’s going on here?”

It was Sunny’s whimper that spurred James into action when he shouted. “HEY!” The omega clinging to him whined, a little at his loud voice but mostly at the level of aggression that was heavy in the air. Everyone’s attention jerked to him suddenly and, as the newcomer's eyes landed on Sunny, their expressions changed rapidly from deep hatred and offense to worry and remorse. “You’re making it worse,” he growled.

The once livid man softened considerably as he walked over to James, his features and scent coming into play as the  veteran looked him over. Another omega, slightly tall considering his second gender, with brown hair and well-tended facial hair, looking very disheveled and strained as he kneeled next to them on the ground. He was careful with his movements, casting the protective alpha a wary glance before lightly touching the girl's shoulder, who flinched away as if she’d been burned. The man’s face fell at her reaction.

“It’s Tony Sunshine,” he tried to soothe her. “The police are here; they’re going to take him away. You’ll never see him again, you’re safe,” he whispered. “You’re Steve’s friend?” Tony asked of the man in front of him.

“James,” he muttered. Behind them, the others began talking to the officer, explaining what had happened and why their boss had driven so far over the speed limit in order to reach them as quickly as possible. Another cop car pulled into the parking lot as they did so and Sunny began to get overwhelmed by all the new smells, one in particular as they pulled the offending alpha out of the jeep.

“Bruce,” Tony said suddenly, catching the attention of someone  else.

“He was waiting for her to leave the store,” James explained. “Probably knew her schedule.”

The other omega  grit his teeth in anger before a man with a blanket appeared next to him, Bruce, most likely, crouched down on the other side carefully. He offered James an ambivalent expression that shifted to reassurance as he lowered the blanket over Sunny’s shoulders, enveloping her in the scent of the older alpha in front of him. She relaxed almost immediately, her body sagging into James even more as exhaustion seemed to weigh upon her, hands finally loosening their hold on his jacket ever so slightly. 

“Please look at me Sunny,” his voice was ever so calm and gentle. “You don’t have to go home; you can stay with us tonight.” He reached for her shoulder tentatively and this time she didn’t flinch away, James let out a relieved sigh.

“Why does she like you more?” Tony grumbled.

“How does that sound?” Bruce ignored the man, probably his mate if the similar scents were anything to go by. “Hm,” he hummed softly as she began to shift. Her face turning towards the kind man a bit by bit until tired red eyes looked up at him. Her face was a mess but James was happy to see some improvement, and to finally get a look at her wide eyes and tear stained cheeks. “There’s my favorite framer,” he smiled warmly at her.

“He tried to bite me,” her voice was so quiet they could barely hear it. The teeth indentations on her fingers flashed through James’ mind and he had to stop himself from growling. Tony’s face darkened before he was moving back towards the peppery alpha with looks that could kill, causing the three police officers to startle.

“Mr. Stark please, calm down,” one of them said. At the same time letting out relaxing pheromones in hopes that it would lessen the anger.

“Tony,” Bruce’s voice cut through them sternly. “Come here.” The tone of the alpha’s voice was not to be trifled with and had his omega hissing something before he was on his knees next to his mate. His face twisting into one of forced calm, though his lips persisted in their downwards turn.

“Take her,” James mouthed at the couple in front of him. He needed to tell the police everything that had happened, but refused to do so with Sunny still clinging to him. It would be cruel to have her listen to everything after she had been the one to go through it. They nodded at him in understanding.

“I’m going to pick you up now, okay Sunny?” Bruce said to the girl. She closed her eyes but nodded minutely. Carefully, slowly, the older alpha grabbed her around the torso, just below her armpits and lifted her away from the grounded alpha, her hands the last thing to untangle from his jacket. The other omega fixed the blanket back around her form as it shifted and fell while she was pulled away. She wrapped her arms around Bruce’s neck as he rested one arm on her back while the other held her up by her legs. It looked a little awkward, as the alpha appeared to be on the shorter side, but he carried her as if she weighed nothing.

Being on the ground for so long had made James somewhat stiff and it took him a couple seconds to adjust as he pulled himself to his feet before he started walking over to the other group. Watching, from the corner of his eye, as Tony opened the back door of their car for Bruce to sit down with Sunny in his lap as if she was a child. 

They questioned him about what happened for about five minutes before taking down his information and going towards where Sunny was to get her statement. Stopping when James snarled at them that she needed time to recuperate before going through it all again, that they could ask him everything again if they wanted to, as long as they left her alone. It was Tony who came over to talk to them, hands fiddling with the remnants of the girls torn up collar.

“She has bite marks on her left hand from blocking him biting her neck and her mating gland is bruised. He must’ve squeezed it to stop her struggling,” the older omega said while handing over the fabric. It definitely explained the dazed look in her eyes when James first saw at her. Touching one's neck, or mating gland, was intimate and could bring both pleasure and pain, too much pressure and an omega would be helpless. As it was most sensitive for them. She’d at least had enough sense left in her to block it at all costs.

There wasn’t much left to say, the officers encouraged Tony to take her to the hospital to get checked out and what to expect from the next couple days as she recovered. That, as soon as she was capable of talking about it, to give them a call and they would come see her at home or wherever was most comfortable. As the officers got into their cars and turned their lights off James finally turned away from everything with a deep sigh and frown etched into his features. With everything fresh in his mind, and his alpha growling for destruction, he couldn’t wait to destroy a punching bag the next day.

“Thank you,” a voice stopped him. He turned to look at Tony with a tired expression as the older omega held his gaze with grateful eyes. “For stepping in,” he faltered, clearly not used to showing so much vulnerability. “Thank you.”

James looked over at the girl again to see that Bruce had started to rub her upper back and she had moved to lean against his chest just as she had with him. The memory of her small hands clenched in his jacket made the ends of his lips turn down further, the fabric still slightly damp from her tears.

“Just take care of her,” he growled before stalking off.

Steve was already waiting in the jeep, having finished talking to his manager ten minutes before as she still needed to close up the store and look through security camera’s for footage of the attempted abduction. He gave the girl one last glance before they pulled away and started driving back to the apartment, immediately rolling down the windows despite the chilled air outside.

“It’s almost November, you know?” Steve muttered.

“Well, it smells like shit in here,” James growled, still catching faint traces of the offending alpha that had been trapped in the back seat. His friend merely nodded in agreement and the two did their best to ignore the goosebumps that appeared on their exposed skin. The jacket was almost dry but still reeked of distressed omega, and everything that had happened flashed past his eyes once again, eliciting a dark growl.

According to his best friend, Sunny worked in the framing department with Bruce, who was mates with the owner, Tony Stark. She was shy and had something of a rough childhood, although Steve didn’t know too much more about that. The store owner, who hadn’t any kids of his own, treated the little omega like family. That was about all he knew, as she rarely came out of her department and when she did it was accompanied by one of the managers who had known her for years.

The information did little to calm James down from his burning rage, still wishing that he had been the one to chase the other alpha down and beat the shit out of him.

“Did it feel good punching him?” He snarled and his friend smirked.

“It did,” he said. “Wanted to do more but he gave up so easily.”

“Pity.”

“Yup,” Steve muttered and there was silence until they pulled up in front of the apartments. “Gym in the morning?”

“As early as possible.” James answered almost immediately.


	2. Chapter 2

No more than a day after what happened James received a call from an unknown number. Which wasn’t uncommon when he was applying for jobs left and right trying to land something steady enough to earn a decent living. Or at least one that would allow him to find his own place, mooching off his best friend left a bad taste in his mouth. He’d been getting calls from random people quite  frequently , and always answered the same way every time.

“This is James.” It was a big improvement from how he used to pick up the phone, but it was still something he had to get used to. Not everyone appreciated his to the point attitude, especially when it came to conversations that they couldn’t have in person. 

“Mr. Barnes, this is Tony Stark,” the voice on the other line replied. At the mere mention of his name the alpha recalled the night prior, small hands in his jacket, boiling anger, and the enraging scent of distress. The little  omegan girl had popped up in his thoughts throughout the day as he wondered how she was doing, if she had gotten any sleep or if she had been up until morning, cuddled up and listening for anything out of place. He ‘d been planning to ask Steve if he had heard anything about the girl but his friend had the day off and left his questions unanswered.

There weren’t many omega’s in the army, the ones that had made it into the battlefield were taken out early, often singled out because of their somewhat weaker body. The few that remained uninjured had become hardened to life, much like he was, and cared little for their own lives as long as everyone was safe. Their rate of survival was low. They didn’t need to be comforted, they didn’t shake and shiver in his arms or cry and hold onto him as if he was a lifeboat. It was another foreign thing that he’d have to get used to being back in society, something his inner alpha would need to get used to as well. People here were different, everything was different.

“Do you need me to speak to the police again?” He asked, wondering if they had called Sunny about her side of the story.

“No, I’d like to offer you a job,” was the quick response that shocked the alpha for a second.

“Excuse me?” James said before he could think of anything better to say. Tony Stark was a business man who only hired the best of the best, those who had mastered their trade or were adaptable enough to be used anywhere. He was nothing of the sort, not crafty or skilled with anything but beating up others and tracking people. Things that were not commonly used for jobs these days. As far as he knew, Stark Industries had nothing to offer him.

“The holidays are coming up fast and we get busy,” the other went on, undeterred. “Lines back up, it gets harder to watch people, some are desperate, or cheap, and steal. They do it every year and my people get stressed.”

“And?” James pushed, questioning where the man was getting to.

“And I want you to be our sole security guard.” The alpha faltered with his response allowing Tony to continue speaking. “My managers are diligent, but overwhelmed during rushes. You’ve shown yourself to be intuitive and resourceful,” his voice was stern.

That was when it clicked and James understood where this had come from, what the omega was getting at. The man wanted someone who would protect his staff, who put himself in harm's way if it meant saving someone else. Watching the store was probably an excuse or added bonus to the job, he wanted extra eyes and ears, ones that had been trained and were used to that kind of thing.

“You want me there to apply pressure,” James stated.

“That’s one way of putting it. Now, what’s your answer?”

Of course, he’d accepted it. They talked about salary and hours, what would be expected of him and whom he should contact if anything got out of hand, not that it would. Tony was direct and fair; he’d start out with short shifts in order to get the hang of it, before he was expected to be there the majority of the day. The job would keep him on his feet and though beating people up was not in the description the omega couldn’t ensure what the craziness of Christmas would bring upon them. It was a job, one that he hadn’t applied for, but one given specifically to him and he would  gladly take it.

“Come in tomorrow for paperwork,” they’d reached the end of their conversation but James had one question left.

“Is she doing okay?” He asked and was sure a low growl echoed in the phone.

“She’s trying,” the man said before hanging up.

Which didn’t tell him much. It meant that she was attempting to move on, probably tried to force herself to rest and failed. Or faked strength, faked being okay only for it to blow up in her face. James tried to stop thinking about her but couldn’t forget her hands clenched in his jacket, her soft voice, or her whimper as she tried to fight back. In hindsight, it had been a stupid question, of course she wouldn’t be okay. Only a day had passed and she had nearly gotten kidnapped and claimed.

“Stupid,” he growled at himself. 

Steve was happy for him, a little surprised that Tony Stark, the man himself, had called him to offer the job instead of having his mate do it, but glad nonetheless. It was a good place to work, his friend told him, everyone was passionate about their jobs, except for a few who worked in customer service or as cashiers, and excited to be there. Breaks didn’t disappear without happening and time off was given without complaint as long as a proper heads up was supplied. Steve had almost been there a year and could recall holidays that packed the store with lines and shoplifters alike. He’d never heard of a craft store getting a security guard before but with what had just happened couldn’t refute that  it was a good idea.

“Is it okay, to work at the same place as you?” James asked. They’d been tagging along with each other since they were kids, going to the same schools, the same jobs, even into the army. This had been the first place Steve had to himself, without being connected to him as childhood friend. One of the few things he had apart from James, and the one-armed veteran wanted to make sure he wouldn’t be intruding. Steve had done enough for him already.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” His friend chuckled.

“I don’t want to intrude.”

“Say that after you move out,” he laughed again.

His eyes flicked to his arm for a second, barely a glance but James saw it and nearly growled. Ever since he’d gotten back from the army Steve had felt guilty, told him many times about how he wished it had been him instead who had gotten captured. James hated it, the pity, the unnecessary guilt that had no business popping up in their relationship. They thought he was dead, watched an explosion engulf him, saw the flames burning in the distance as they escaped and the one-armed vet didn’t blame him. Never blamed him, but the expression and feelings persisted regardless.

“Don’t complain afterwards,” James muttered instead of bringing it up again.

“No promises,” his friend laughed.

\--

All the staff in Stark Industries wore casual clothes with either a black vest or apron with their nametag on it somewhere. James’ uniform was a bit more official than that and consisted of a black jacket, black pants, combat boots, and a walkie talkie which connected him to the managers. Tony also encouraged him to wear a frown or scowl, thought it wasn’t mandatory, and the store owner chuckled lightly at his own joke.

His first couple days on the job were spent walking around the store and getting to know the different areas, figuring out if there were any blind spots or places to hide merchandise. The other employees thanked him initially, for helping Sunny, and then seemed to keep their distance as he somberly made his way around the store multiple times a shift. Steve introduced him to the stockers and those he was closest to, but was otherwise pretty busy throughout the day. Halloween was only two days away and people were rushing into the store for last minute crafts and party decorations. He was told he would be allowed to dress up if he wanted to, but it wasn’t required. He was not going to do so.

For the most part his job, thus far, had been to intimidate the customers and glower at anyone who rubbed him the wrong way. It had proven somewhat successful and even seemed to prevent people from messing up the aisles too much as he walked around to store to make sure no one was causing any trouble. A lot of time was spent up in the front, by the cashiers, who had tentatively started talking to him, one in particular could not be dissuaded by his short answers and indifferent attitude.

An omega named Scott, who delighted in telling the worst jokes James had ever heard, all the while grinning like a child. He’d also proudly shown off his marked neck and gushed about how amazing his mate was to him. It was cute, though the bit about relationships made the alpha grumble, the overenthusiastic man had a puppy energy about him that his coworkers couldn’t get mad at, no matter how many times he repeated his awful puns. With the talkative man on register the one-armed vet almost never said anything as the chatterbox was more than happy to fill in the silence. There was also a handful of betas who introduced themselves one by one, on the younger side, and mainly spoke to each other about video games when their lines died down. Peter, Ned, and Danny offered him pleasantries but otherwise ignored the intimidating aura he exuded. Loki was head cashier; the tricky beta was in charge of accepting returns and rejecting ones that had already been used or were from different stores. He regarded James much the same as everyone else.

It was really only the managers who spoke to him over the course of the shift, though it could also be counted as them talking over him instead. He listened just in case, but it was usually about where something was located in the store or if they had finished a custom order. There’d only been a couple sketchy people to enter the store and, after he’d followed them idly, they’d left without buying or snatching anything. He was also welcome to watch the security cameras, but the job was also left to Pietro who handled all the tech in the store, incoming requests, new orders, incoming trucks, and so on. He was friendly enough to James, but only until the phone rang and his attention shifted rapidly to other things.

The store was much like a well-oiled machine, one that had been running smoothly and efficiently for many years. There were different areas for different projects or art mediums, decorations and fake plants, plastic Christmas trees and furniture that could be adjusted or custom made. It was quite the wonderland for hobbyists and crafters alike, some of the employees could even be commissioned for special pieces. He didn’t know everyone yet, and quite frankly didn’t mind, but the building was starting to feel somewhat familiar to him, which was a welcome thing. Tony had even been nice enough to schedule him and Steve on the same shifts until his car was fixed.

Sunny had yet to return, the alpha had a bit on his mind as he grew accustomed to his new job and met people walking around but the girl popped up in his mind every so often when he passed the framing department. The other alpha, Bruce, always offered him a little nod of acknowledgement, or a glance if he was talking to a customer, but otherwise said nothing to the new security guard and James didn’t ask. It was mostly his alpha that wondered about the little omega that had clung to his jacket, instincts urging him to make sure that she was okay.

Halloween saw him receiving pumpkin sunglasses from Natasha who was wearing a shirt with a web design on it and a spider on the side of her head.

“This is what losers wear,” she stated as she handed him the gaudy things.

“Thanks,” he grumbled.

“Don’t throw them away,” she said while walking towards he back of the store.

Loki was sporting a similar pair of sunglasses and tipped them in James’ direction when he saw that they matched. Ned and Danny were dressed up as some characters from a game, but the alpha had no idea what it was. Another one of the managers, Clint, sported a bow and quiver of arrows that he’d slung around his torso, it wasn’t much but he’d not been given the glasses.

James wore them for all of three seconds before he let them hang from the collar of his jacket. Steve had gotten a little more into the spirit and wore a dress shirt pulled open with a superman t-shirt underneath, not even bothering to try and get a curl out of his short blonde hair. He’d offered to help James think of something but the one-armed alpha assured him he didn’t care and Halloween should be treated like any other day. The costumes around the store said differently, even some of the customers were coming in wearing striped socks or face paint which only made the security guard scowl even more. Pietro had been given skeleton glasses while Sam, a stocker, was wearing an obnoxious brown and white tie dyed shirt with a bird on it.

“It counts,” was all he said.

Thor, a boisterous alpha, was dressed as a blacksmith, complete with a big plastic hammer that he’d looped around his belt. He was one of the few people who actually talked to James consistently, always about random things that held no real importance, but it was welcome in his mostly quiet days. The framing department, which was located in the back corner of the store, was usually the last place he walked past. Bruce was behind the counter wearing a t-shirt with cartoon muscles printed onto it, James couldn’t help the quirk of his eyebrows as he looked at the ridiculous thing. The other alpha noticed and laughed before motioning for him to come closer.

“I don’t care for Halloween, Tony made me wear it,” he chuckled, adjusting his apron overtop of it. 

“Could’ve fooled me,” James offered the man a small smile.

“You’re here until closing right?” The framer questioned. A mere nod was his response. “Sunny’s coming in soon, to work on a special order, I have to leave for a few hours in the afternoon. Could you keep an eye on her for me?”

“Is she okay?” The security guard asked. It'd barely been a week since it happened, no one would’ve said anything if it had taken her longer to recover, everyone healed at different paces, and with how the girl had been shaking that night he’d expected a few more days at least.

“That’s what she keeps telling us,” Bruce laughed again, but this time it was strained. “Can’t help but worry though.”

“I’ll make sure to linger a little more than usual,” James assured the man. Recalling the  way the other alpha had held the little omega against his chest in the back seat of his car and the gentle way he’d called her name. According to Steve they weren’t blood related, but it was obvious the older man cared for her deeply.

“Thank you.”

The rest of the morning went by somewhat slow and the security guard walked lazily around the store, Wanda in linens was dressed up as, what appeared to be, red riding hood. Maria, the floor manager, had another pair of skeleton sunglasses, and a customer service boy he had yet to meet was decked out as Ash Ketchum. One of the few costumes James had recognized at first glance. He was walking through all the fake plants, around twelve thirty, when someone dressed in a raccoon  onesie entered the store. It was grey with a lighter shade for the stomach and brown for the other details on the back, sleeves, tail, and facial features. It even had a  tail and little ears on the hood, which was pulled up over the persons' head. They were on the shorter side and the pajamas did nothing to help them look any bigger than they might have been.

It was a cute costume; James hadn’t even seen who was inside of it but couldn’t help to think about other things, spacing out slightly. The raccoon immediately had the attention of all the cashiers who waved and smiled in their direction, Loki even flagged them down and had them wait beside his register while he finished talking to an older lady.

The army veteran didn’t think much of it until he got closer and caught the familiar smell of suppressed citrus, though there was a new burst of ginger that caught his nose as well. As a beta, Loki had a much more muted scent of cinnamon that James had gotten somewhat used to, so it was unmistakably from the critter. The other night, under all the distress and fear, Sunny had smelled of such. The little raccoon, Sunny, had to be at least a foot smaller than the beta next to her, who was even taller than James by a couple inches.

She rocked back and forth on her feet for a few seconds, glancing around idly until he walked into view to take up his post near the front doors. Beneath the hood she had green doe eyes, a small nose, pouty lips, and pale skin. He hadn’t seen her too well the first time, as she’d mostly had her face smooshed into his chest, but looking at her now felt almost strange. Her big eyes stared at him in surprise before she got embarrassed and turned away. In the next moment Loki was leaning down slightly to look at her, pushing her hood back to reveal a mess of short curly brown hair that barely reached her chin.

The beta fussed over the little omega for a moment, looking very annoyed until she said something to the man that made him laugh. All of the staff had been informed of what happened to Sunny and were told to not ask her about it or bring it up. James was prepared to act as if they had never even met if that was what it would take for her to recover faster, though his alpha urged him to check up on her as soon as she appeared. Either the tall cashier didn’t care about the warning or they were talking about something else, but it was nice to see someone checking up on her.

Another customer, holding a very large pink flamingo, walked through the door and went straight to Loki at the returns register, a deep glare set in the man’s face. The beta rolled his eyes and pulled Sunny’s hood back up and over her eyes as much as possible before getting back to work, making the omega protest and frown as she fixed it. He then handed her a couple returned, factory produced frames, for her to take back to her department and turned to the pink bird with a grin on his face. It was a summer item that the man would not be able to return, and Loki’s favorite thing to tell people was no. 

Sunny took the frames without protest and started walking towards the back of the store, where Bruce was undoubtably waiting for her to arrive. James watched her go, about to turn away as she approached a corner when she glanced back at him before jerking away just as quickly when they caught eyes. The army veteran couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips, as he imagined a real raccoon would react much the same way.

When he made another round of the store nothing had changed, Bruce was still at the front counter taking notes on something with Sunny nowhere to be seen. Though the security guard was sure she was in the workshop located in the area behind the counter, he had yet to see what it looked like back there but imagined sawdust and nails all over the floor.

Thor was in the break room during his lunch and informed him he was welcome to eat any of the many number of sweets people had brought in for the holiday. The staff room had two round tables with five chairs each, a brown leather couch, a television mounted to the wall, and a kitchenette. The fridge, he’d discovered, was mostly full of half empty condiments and bags of abandoned lunches. Today, the counter was full of bright artificially colored cookies and cupcakes that he was sure would dye his tongue orange or black. The alpha stocker warned him to grab a rice crispy treat early if he wanted one as they were a certain omega raccoon’s favorite who would definitely eat them all.

As they were talking idly Bruce walked in and went straight for the aforementioned sweets, taking a couple and stopping shortly when he saw James and Thor.

“I’ll be leaving in a few minutes, back at five, if you need anything from frames ask Sunny, or wait for me to get back,” he informed them. Though James was sure it was also a reminder to him of what the other alpha had requested of him earlier.

“Will do,” Thor nodded. 

It ended up being an unnecessary worry. The frames department was rather empty for the time that Bruce was gone and Sunny remained in the workroom away from his well-meaning gaze, that loitered a few more minutes than usual in the area. There was a bell and a note to ring it a couple times if a customer should need help with a custom order, a system they were more than likely used to. When the other alpha returned James was at the front and informed him that nothing had happened, a sigh of relief followed.

His last, ten-minute, break had him in the staff room again where he checked to see that there were only a couple rice crispy bars left. While grabbing one he thought of how many the little raccoon had eaten, if they were stockpiled in her work area or if she ate them right away. From the corner of his eye he saw something grey walk past the break room that came back into view upon seeing him at the counter. He turned to see Sunny standing in the doorway, she appeared to be looking at him but wouldn’t meet his eyes as he tried to catch her gaze.

“Did you want one?” James asked holding up the sweet. She looked to his face suddenly at the question, as if she was surprised that he could also speak.

“I wanted to-,” she hesitated slightly. “Thank you for what you did for me.” Her face turned away again as she cast her gaze on the many desserts that still occupied the counter space. James almost chuckled at her actions, recalling what Steve had told him about how shy she was. “And I’m sorry for cryin’ on your jacket,” she muttered the last part.

That part made him frown, openly, his lips turned down at her comment, it’d been  stranger if she hadn’t cried or freaked out. 

“Don’t apologize for that,” he almost snapped at her. Who had taught her that? Perhaps her family, as his friend had said she had something of a rough childhood, not everyone knew how to deal with omegas. Her eyes found his displeasure and a spike of shame tainted her scent for a moment as he realized his mistake.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he thought about how to remedy the situation, almost grumbling at himself. He wasn’t used to this type of omega, what could he say to make it better? Sunny had turned her face back towards the ground and looked very uneasy as he tried to soothe her with his scent. 

“There’s nothing wrong with crying when you’re scared,” he tried to explain himself. “Okay?” His voice was demanding and he lamented again for his inexperience in the matter. She nodded in front of him, the little raccoon ears bobbing slightly.

“Okay,” her voice was small but soon her scent evened out again as she looked up at him shyly. James, still grumpy about how awkward he’d made the whole thing out to be, grabbed the other remaining rice crispy and pushed both of them into her hands. He should’ve just accepted her apology and thanks and said nothing else of the issue.

“You can have one-,” he interrupted her.

“Take them,” he stated before turning away from her. 

“Thank you,” she said softly. 

The alpha turned back to look at her only to see Steve waiting behind her in the doorway, she was standing in such a way that there was barely not enough room to get around her on either side. His friend looked at James and then at the little raccoon with a curious expression while the security guard merely frowned in response. The other alpha would surely laugh and chide him once he knew what had happened.

“Miss, can I get by, please?” Steve asked politely. The new voice caught the omega off guard and she startled visibly, pale skin flushing red with embarrassment that exploded into her scent as she stepped out of the way in a rush. The hot flush of emotions seeped into her pheromones and almost made the room feel warm with their sudden intensity, the two alphas couldn’t help but smirk at her reaction. Steve walked past her towards the snacks as she looked ready to bolt, glancing between the two of them before she spoke again.

“Shanks, torry,” she said in a rush before looking even more horrified with herself. Then she was out the door and out of sight before James and Steve even realized that she’d mixed up the first letter of each word.

“I think you gave her a heart attack,” the security guard said to his friend.

“I tried not to,” he sighed. “It was pretty cute though.” Her flushed face came to mind again.

“Yeah.”

“What did you say to her?” Steve mused while looking for the dessert with the least amount of bright orange frosting.

“You’re going to laugh at me,” the  one-armed veteran grumbled.

He did laugh, but also commended him for realizing it and trying to fix it in the end, at least the omega probably wouldn’t avoid him now. It was nearing seven  forty -five in the evening when James came upon the front of the store again, customers had pretty much disappeared around five in order to make it home to either go trick or treating or take their kids around the neighborhood. His coworkers had taken the chance to face aisles and clean without having to worry about people messing it up. Most had finished and were talking with each other idly. When he’d passed the framing department it was empty, though he had seen the cartoon muscled man walking towards the manager's office about ten minutes ago.

Peter had replaced Danny around three in the afternoon dressed as some other video game character with a giant foam sword. The two younger betas were stocking impulse items at their registers while constantly glancing over towards the doors with worried expressions. Their subtle scents clouded with uneasiness. 

“What’s wrong?” James asked and Ned turned to him bitterly.

“She’s been standing there for a couple minutes now,” he explained. The security guard followed his gaze to see a familiar raccoon rooted statically in front of the double doors. Outside, the last bits of sunset clung stubbornly to the edge of the horizon, some of the worse for wear streetlights across the road just barely flickering on.

With a bag of something clenched tightly against her chest Sunny stared outside into the growing darkness and James’ inner alpha roared up within him to protect and to soothe. From where they were standing, he couldn’t tell if she was shaking or not, but his mind edited it in anyway, the memory still fresh within him. She’d told Bruce she was fine, probably insisted upon it, yet she couldn’t bring herself to go outside alone, not in the dark anyway.

“I hate this,” Peter growled.

She looked smaller than before, standing in front of the big glass doors that had opened to her almost getting kidnapped the week before. He was sure she was thinking about it, had to be. Perhaps she had decided to go out anyway, even though she was scared, but her body just wouldn’t move.

“I got her, I got her,” Loki’s voice came in from behind them. James had been just about to move, his whole body screaming at him to do something for the little omega that was clearly suffering in front of him. Part of him had been hoping she would step outside on her own, while the other part knew that it was too soon.

The tall beta approached her with a teasing remark, oozing a powerful scent of playfulness and comfort that she was used to. She turned to him and muttered something that the man must’ve disliked as the next moment saw him rubbing her head vigorously with her hood still on, undoubtably messing up her hair and creating a bunch of static beneath it.

“They seem close,” the security guard said at the sight of her wild hair. Loki had pulled her hood off even as she protested and tried to pull it back up, a glare building up in her eyes.

“She’s the only one he’s nice to,” Ned replied.

“Even his brother doesn’t get that smile,” Peter added as the beta in front of them grinned with pure, delighted, mischief. “Thor is his brother,” the young beta answered his quizzical glance.

As if he knew what they were talking about Loki threw the group of them a bland stare before following the omega outside. She was doing her best to fix her hair, distracted enough by her tall friend that she didn’t seem to notice where her feet were taking her. It made the alpha breathe a sigh of relief; people looked out for each other here, much like they had done in the army, at least that was familiar.

“So, who won the costume contest?” Peter asked them. Ned shrugged and looked at the alpha, who had begun moving back to his post near the door, but the man looked very confused instead.

“I didn’t even know there was one,” he replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos. :]


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few weeks James settled more into his job and started to enjoy it. He knew the store enough to direct people to the right vicinity, not even close to the level where he could name brands or materials, but enough to pass. People had gotten used to him standing in the front of the store or walking around with an air of dominance that had others wanting to behave more than they usually would. During rushes, which were becoming more frequent as Thanksgiving and Christmas approached, the cashiers relied on him to stare down the customers. There were less complaints about slow service and fewer insults that the betas and omega had to endure if he was standing guard over the lot of them. Loki was good about snapping at people who made unnecessary comments about bonds and scents, outing the beta as someone who actually cared, but James had the glare and alpha pheromones.

Thor and Scott quickly cemented themselves as his friends and would sometimes seek him out for random conversations, as such, he had gotten to the point where he would sometimes avoid them. They were almost too friendly, and the alpha had taken to calling them the golden retrievers of the store, a nickname that Steve had laughed at and unabashedly agreed with. He much preferred the silent nods and short conversations that the managers offered him, Bruce’s topics were usually about work while Pietro ranted about movies. Sunny talked about the weather and ridiculous orders, when he happened to either overhear her or if they crossed paths at the beginning/end of their shifts. The little omega always greeted him in the morning if he was by the door, and said goodbye to him when she left. He almost never saw her wandering around the store like some of the other employees would do, she stayed, hidden away, in the workroom.

On the rare days that Bruce was busy the small girl did her best to take orders and answer questions if anyone had one. Customers reactions to her behavior varied depending on their second gender, the most annoying and, often disrespectful, being the alpha’s who sometimes leered at her when she wasn’t looking. Scott occasionally got the same treatment, although there was less of it since he was mated and his smell was more muted than an unmarked omega like Sunny.

It explained why the other alpha stayed situated at the front counter instead of working in the back like she did. The older man was her barrier, her kind face hiding a darker aura that seeped out when he was annoyed or entering protect mode. James had seen it happen a couple times now and couldn’t help but be impressed at how well it worked. 

He’d had the pleasure of seeing a couple custom projects that Sunny finished as they made their way to the registers and then out the door. One was a cedar frame with an oak tree burned around the edges, its branches stretching across the upper corners until it disappeared off the sides. The other was more colorful half burned and half painted onto a large slice of a tree trunk. Both of the pieces were unique and seemed to have made the customers happy, if their beaming smiles were anything to go by as they walked towards the front of the store.

“Too bad you already have a mate,” James caught the comment and looked slowly over at a pale skinned man. He was leaning against the counter, staring lecherously at Scott who looked very uncomfortable with the situation, and it took a lot to get that reaction from him.

“Get your things and leave,” Loki growled from his own register. Yet the man persisted until James walked up behind him, letting out a threatening scent that immediately got the other alpha’s attention who turned with a snarl in his lips.

“Sir, if you’re having trouble finding the door, I can show you,” the army veteran said. He’d gotten better about not outright growling at people who caused trouble, as it was often criticized by the managers who didn’t want to deal with angry complaints later.

“I was just telling-,” James cut him off.

“Yes?” The fake niceness of his tone disappeared to be replaced by cold malice.

“Am I not allowed to give a  compl -,” he snapped but didn’t get to finish again.

“Or I can throw you out?” The other man paled slightly at the threat and James could barely make out a muffled laugh from Peter who was watching everything from his own station. They were in the middle of the after-work rush that lasted for about an hour from five-thirty to six-thirty, the time got longer and longer as people flooded the store in search of gifts.

“You’ve lost all my future business,” the pale man sneered as he pushed past James.

“We don’t need it,” Loki muttered under his breath. With one last glare the man walked out the door and Scott thanked the security guard with a deep sigh before looking down at his  ever-growing line with defeat.

“I wanted him to resist so I could punch him,” James said in disappointment.

“Maybe next time,” Peter laughed. The beta had gotten more used to the brooding alpha over the weeks and was comfortable enough to make jokes and blab to him at times when his friends weren’t there. The security guard had started to be somewhat protective of certain people in the store now, there were those who could take care of themselves and others who, he was sure, would fit easily in his arms. It was the difference between his inner alpha ignoring a person and roaring to life when they walked by or became irritated.

Being in the front was also pretty entertaining between Scott boring people with his atrocious jokes and Loki taking twisted delight in rejecting returns. The tall beta had no soft spot when it came to customers, he didn’t care if they were young or old, what their second gender was, what they looked like, or even if they flirted with him. He was unflappable and rubbed many people the wrong way, something that the managers hated as they got many complaints about his behavior. It wasn’t that he never accepted returns, but he was very good at figuring out what was a lie and what wasn’t, if something had been used and broken or if it genuinely did not work.

James was pretty sure Tony had been joking when he encouraged the alpha to wear a scowl while on the job, but it was actually something that turned out to be helpful. Everyone stayed out of his way when he frowned at them, they startled and glanced at him warily, as if they had done something wrong. There were even some alphas who skittered away, though others merely clicked their tongues at him in irritation, the domineering scent he gave off only riling them up more. Days passed by quickly as the store became more and more familiar, his coworkers ignored him less, and he’d even started to recognize a few different customers who smiled at him when they entered. 

Most days were marked and remembered by what happened within them, whether it was something ridiculous that occurred in the break room, an inside joke, strange custom order, or a difficult patron. Even an attempted theft, though difficult, it was welcome to break up the monotony of what his days were starting to become. It’d only been a month, but already James felt himself getting somewhat bored with the job, feeling almost unnecessary when Loki or one of the managers could do it just as easily. Sure, him being there helped speed along the process, but was he really that useful?

There hadn’t been anything big to really happen yet, nothing to prove to others and himself that his role in the store was vital to keep it going. He was a watch dog that came when they needed him, certainly someone else could easily fit into that role. Another big and scary alpha, who enjoyed the endless walks around the store, they could do this job as well.

The sound of a bell dinging took him out of his brooding as he came upon the framing department, and he remembered that Bruce had been gone since the day before. Something about the boss being sick, possibly being on his heat, or something. Sunny would hold down the fort while working on her custom orders. The little omega still hesitated every once in a while, at the front doors before leaving for the day, but for the most part seemed to be doing okay after what had happened to her. As far as James could tell anyway, they’d not spoken about it since.

He watched from an endcap a few aisle’s away, feigning interest in the sketchbooks in front of him that all looked the same but claimed to be made of paper that varied in weight. There was a man at the counter, dressed smartly with a stern look on his face as he glanced around the area in front of him. There were examples of different woods and designs on the wall in front of the workshop, he looked over them lazily before his gaze snapped towards the little omega who appeared through the open doorway. She offered a small nod of acknowledgement and a soft smile that had the other alpha relaxing a little, though his calculated gaze was now solely on her.

Their difference in height was almost laughable, the top of her head stopped at the man’s shoulder, she was looking up at him but had she kept her gaze forward it would be blocked by his chest. James had found out, through the cashiers, that Sunny was about five feet tall and would constantly argue that she was at least five-foot one. One look at her always proved that to be wrong as she was undoubtably the shortest employee in the store, easy to pick up and throw around, Thor had said.

“Are you here to make a custom order?” She asked while fidgeting with her apron.

“Yes,” was all the man said in response. Sunny looked away from him to grab a form from under the counter, she placed it in front of him while opening a drawer only to frown at its contents. Pulling a pen out of one of the pockets of her apron she set that down in front of the man as well.

“Go ahead and fill this out, I’ll be right back,” she said before walking back into the workshop. 

James was just about to continue on his patrol of the store when Sunny gave her pen to the man, who hesitated for a moment before bringing the it up to his nose and inhaling deeply. Objects used a lot by a certain person retained their scent, it was common knowledge, but it was also seen as rude to take or scent someone by such means. Clothes were often given to omegas during their pre-heat period from their prospective mates in order to help them through the worst of their mating period. Usually, a shirt or scarf was the best as it was closest to the mating gland, but other things could be given as well. The same could be done for an alpha going through rut, it just wasn’t as common. It was an intimate gesture, giving someone a substitute version of themselves, a sensitive topic.

Sunny’s pen had likely been in her mouth at some point, or pushed against her lips as she worked, James could picture it, though part of him hoped it was some random one she had picked up that day. If it was something like the first option the writing utensil probably reeked of the little omega’s scent, the latter would be much fainter. She probably gave it to him without thinking, anxious to get back into the workshop and finish whatever she had planned for the remainder of the day.

The man held it under his nose for a few more seconds, seeming to savor the smell, before using it to fill out the form. He had to be at least a decade older than the girl which made James nearly snarl at the display, if anything the other man should know better than to do such a thing. As he appeared to reach the bottom of the paper Sunny walked back to the counter with a cup of pens and pencils in her hand that she placed more near the other side.

James moved one endcap closer to them, this one was full of markers and watercolor paints of varying brands and quality. He picked one up and faked looking at it while trying to pick up everything that was happening one aisle over.

“Will you be the one making the frame?” The man asked, looking at her suddenly.

“No, my manager will,” she said glancing away, not wanting to meet the man’s eyes.

“What if I want you to make it?” He teased, trying to get her gaze on him.

“It won’t turn out good,” she stated in a rush. “I do all the woodburning.” A frown had started to pull at her lips the longer their conversation held, as the man had started to lean further over the counter while he spoke. “Is this all you needed?” She asked finally looking at him, appearing slightly worried but otherwise firm in her dismissal. The action had James’ alpha wanting to praise the girl for being straightforward, as he’d imagined her to merely shrink and cower until the other man tired or the security guard intervened. 

“For now,” the man smirked.

“We’ll call you when it’s ready,” she muttered while turning away from him.

“Looking forward to it,” he grinned.

He then tapped the counter a couple times with her pen, put it in his pocket, and walked away, but not before flicking his gaze to James with a cocky nod. The army veteran growled lowly at this, so the man had known that he was watching and continued on regardless. Sunny's shoulders sank in relief before she disappeared into the workshop, but he didn’t want leave it like that. He could wait until Bruce returned to tell her guardian what happened, warn him about not sending her out when the man returned for his order. Make sure that the omega was aware of how her scent would cling to things and how she shouldn’t give them out, he should wait for the other alpha. But he couldn’t. His inner beast had flipped over to protection mode and saw the girl as a naïve pup that didn’t know all the rules and needed to be educated.

It really wasn’t his job to tell her about alpha and omega etiquette, it was something her parents should have told her, there were even classes for it at most public schools by now. The real question was whether or not they had felt the need to enroll her in such a class, as Steve’s comment flashed through his mind again, about her troublesome childhood. Even if she had just forgotten for a moment it needed to be corrected. 

Instead of ringing the bell to bring her to the counter James walked behind it, glancing around for a few moments at one of the few places in the store he had never seen. It smelled of sawdust, campfire, and pine, it was all he could smell as soon as he stepped into the opening to look at the area. It was a mess, with shavings of wood, random pieces of scrap, planning paper, tools, and machines spread out across the space. How they kept up with anything in such a disarray was beyond him. The space was at least twice as big as the break room and had three long work tables with a few battered chairs, one of them occupied by the omega who was hunched over working. Little puffs of smoke wafted out and above her every so often as she carefully burned away parts of the plaque in front of her.

Now that he was there, in her cluttered workspace, James was certain that he should’ve left this part for Bruce to do. Ever since that first night, when she’d been shaking and crying against him, his alpha was always pestering him about how the little omega was doing, he’d developed quite the soft spot for the girl. It was irritating and he’d done his best to ignore it as much as possible, because she wasn’t his responsibility, they barely even spoke to each other yet he was getting ready to scold her like a child. He blamed it on the job and the way Tony had phrased his description, the employee's safety was his job. This could technically count as part of it as well.

Remembering how startled she had gotten by Steve’s voice on Halloween James knocked on the wall next to him with his knuckles, trying his best to look casual in the doorway. Her body stiffened before it turned to look at him quizzically, expression skeptical until she saw him staring at her blandly.

“Oh,” she relaxed after seeing it was him. “Hi,” she greeted. Her lips turning upwards slightly at the ends.

“Did you like that man?” He asked, getting straight to the point. The speed at which her face twisted into one of disgust almost made him laugh as she shook her head with furrowed brows.

“He smelled like dust,” she muttered suddenly embarrassed.

“You might not know this,” he started. Now that he was in front of the girl, he wasn’t quite sure how to approach the subject of scented items and how alphas courted omegas, he’d never had to tell someone before. “But giving an alpha something of yours, that carries your scent, means you’re interested in them.” He explained and watched her face twist into one of pure confusion. “Usually, it’s clothing, but is could also be something they use a lot, like a pen.” 

The expression on her face changed slowly as she reached into her apron in search of the writing utensil that was no longer there, which meant she really hadn’t been thinking about it at all. Her pale skin flushed almost completely red while her eyebrows knit together in worry as her mind raced with what this could mean. For now, he would leave off the part about how it was mainly used to get through heats or ruts, it wouldn’t be any good to freak her out even more.

“B-but, it’s just a pen,” she tried to counter. “And I didn’t give it to him, he took it.”

“I know,” he nodded. “Be careful from now on, some people will take advantage of that,” he muttered the last part. Sunny’s gaze fell away from him, a deep-seated shame flashing across her features before she spoke again.

“Okay,” her voice was soft. His inner alpha, satisfied with having ‘protected’ her from future harm or misunderstandings, now urged him to lighten her mood somehow. James nearly growled at the feelings constantly raging within, it was why he almost always suppressed that part of him, quite frankly it was annoying.

“I’ve seen some of your work,” he said. “It’s really good, I’ve never seen anything like it.” The surprised expression that she suddenly leveled him with was unexpected, her large eyes getting wider as her lips parted slightly. A faint blush danced across her cheeks as her lips turned up the tiniest bit before she smiled at him.

“Thank you.”

“Sure,” he grunted before leaving.

Bruce was back two days later looking a little worn out but otherwise happy to be working again. James had spent a little more time than usual in the back of the store, keeping an eye out for Sunny without even thinking too much about it. She was young, had been through a lot recently, and there was nothing wrong with an alpha wanting to watch out for an omega. If anyone noticed, they said nothing. The security guard waited until Sunny had gone to lunch to approach the frames manager, who greeted James with a nod and a smile. 

“Everyone in her family is a beta,” the other alpha explained upon the army veterans questioning. “Apparently, her parents didn’t think alpha/omega classes were necessary when she was in school, they treated her as if she was a beta, like them. Supposedly, they didn’t know she was an omega until a year or so after she presented.”

“How irresponsible,” James growled. It had taken a bit of prodding to get the manager to talk about Sunny, he’d pretty much told the other alpha that all he wanted was to make sure everyone would be looked out for. How was he to do that if he didn’t know the context?

“Tony and I tell her things as they come up, but we’re still new to this, parental guardianship thing, as Tony calls it. She really should’ve learned it in school, or from her parents, but,” he shook his head. “Well, can’t change the past.”

He had more questions, but Bruce seemed to be done talking about her, especially when she returned from the break room early with some of her food. Apparently, there was no one else in the  there and it made no sense to sit alone. She greeted James with a small hello before disappearing into the workshop with her bag of chips that had the other alpha groaning.

“Is that all you’re eating?” He nagged her.

“I had an apple,” her voice called back. 

“Anyway,” Bruce sighed at the girls answer. “Thank you, for telling her and me.”

“Of course,” he said, throwing one last glance towards the workshop as he walked away.

\--

“How do you not know that your child is an omega, for a year?” James growled later that night. “Would they not be able to smell her going into heat?”

He’d been thinking about it for the remainder of his shift, grumbling and growling about incompetent parents and public schools. The way she had been raised, as far as he knew, was without a plan. Her family hadn’t even considered that she might be different and didn’t bother to check. That meant that she had gone through a year or more of painful heats without suppressants or aids to help her get through. She’d probably compared herself to her siblings and wondered what was wrong with her, if she was broken or abnormal. The metal-armed alpha snarled at the thought. It was dangerous for an omega to know nothing, to be coddled and protected against what could happen to them if they were unprepared.

“Their sense of smell isn’t as strong, perhaps they thought she was bringing it home from someone else,” Steve offered.

They’d settled into their shared apartment for the night and the security guard had seemed more agitated and angrier than usual which spurred his friend to question him about the day. Cringing at the story of Sunny from a few days prior and what Bruce had given as an explanation. Whether or not it was private information the bitter alpha didn’t seem to care as he frowned and complained about how people could be so oblivious.

“Heats can last up to a week every two to three months, did they think she was just getting sick all the time? How could they not know?” He seethed.

“I think her parents had like,” Steve hesitated, trying to remember what he’d heard around the store. “Seven kids or something, it was probably hard to keep track of them all. And betas have periods still, they could’ve thought that hers were just more intense than normal,” he muttered.

The comment only cemented his rage even more as he thought about what it must’ve been like for her going through everything alone. Omegas were meant to be cared for, to be soothed and reassured, especially when they first present and everything changes. He thought of the shaking girl in his arms all those nights ago and how she’d cried softly but didn’t want to move. Was that how she’d gotten through her heats? Curled up somewhere, questioning if there was something wrong with her, perhaps even afraid to ask for help.

“That doesn’t make it okay,” he snapped.

“You’re right, it doesn’t,” Steve agreed with him.

“It’s almost cruel,” he muttered. 

The burning hate of just a few seconds prior shifted to one that was more solemn as they thought about how neglected the little omega must’ve been as she was growing up. Steve felt the same way about the whole conversation, it was unfortunate, that Sunny had been given such a childhood. One full of misunderstandings and fear, but it happened all the time, something like this wasn’t out of the ordinary in the world.

It took him a moment to recognize what was going on, and the realization made him smile slightly at his metal-armed, man bun wearing, best friend. He’d started to care. After returning from the army, from being a prisoner, and trying to fit himself back into a life that he no longer wanted, James was bitter. Steve could see it in his expressions, in the way he spoke, and the minimal care he provided for himself throughout the day. It made the short haired alpha worried that he wouldn’t be able to adjust, that he’d spend his days hardening into a different person than what he used to be and close himself off from the world.

Looking at him now, something had changed. At the moment, it was small as he was still bitter and resentful, but not at himself. It was now directed at some random people he would probably never meet but Steve was grateful. The security job was good for him, though he still muttered about how anyone could do it, his friend could tell, that he’d started to care about his coworkers. The comments he made after work, the way his brow furrowed in frustration and worry, and even his avoidance of the more persistent. 

“Next Thursday, it’s Thanksgiving,” Steve said, trying to change the subject.

“And?” His friend growled, knowing that he was trying to move on.

“The boss opens his house every year to anyone who has nowhere to go, like us.” He explained. “The store is closed all day, dinner is in the evening, and I’ve been told it’s not a night to miss.”

“Sure, whatever,” his friend mumbled.

“It’ll be nice,” Steve assured him.

“I’m still angry,” James grunted.

“I know.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter went away from me, I usually aim for about four thousand words and this one is over six. I really wanted to get this done before/on Thanksgiving and this was the best I could do.. Hope you like it.

The days before Thanksgiving went by quickly, due largely to the increased volume of customers that had depleted the store of fake fall foliage, decorations, and all things tableware. James had been asked many a question about what kind of supply they had in the back of the store and if he could check to see if there was anything tucked away. On the first occasion he had been slightly annoyed that they didn’t believe him when he said  everything they had was on the floor already, insisting that he go to the stock room and look for himself. The second and third time he’d growled that it wasn’t his job and pointed them in the direction of a manager who would often toss him a glare in retaliation. Then, on the last day before Thanksgiving, he’d adopted and used what Peter called the ‘I’ll kill you if you talk to me’ face.

He wasn’t there for people to bug about things that were out of stock, or tell others over and over again that what they were looking for had been bought up weeks ago. Certainly not for them to pester about how another store would definitely have what they wanted and they deserved a discount for even coming to this store at all. It didn’t matter where he was, customers came up to him non-stop with their same repeated questions that he’d started to snarl and snap at. An uptight beta had even complained about him to Natasha who had laughed at James when she told him.

Walking around the store with a death glare worked well for him and he added to it with slow, exaggerated, steps that made it appear as if he was stalking someone. Even going as far as letting some of his alpha pheromones leak out to keep people away, he wasn’t to be disturbed with petty questions.

“You look scary today,” Scott said to the security guard as he pushed his drawer into the register. He was standing in his usual spot in the front of the store, but his calm and cold exterior had been completely replaced by one of malice. He was leaning slightly against the wall with his arms crossed in front of him, eyes set into a stern glare full of disdain.

“If one more person asks me to look in the back for hidden stock, I’m hurting someone,” the alpha growled. He’d pulled his hair back into a ponytail and through the hole of a baseball cap in order to accentuate the chilling, buzz off, attitude he was exuding.

“You’re going to have a rough time during the Christmas rushes,” Loki chuckled.

“At least you don’t have to answer the phone, Pietro answers the same five questions all day,” Peter huffed.

“What a patient man,” Ned sounded impressed. James was as well, how that man got through his shifts without shouting at someone was truly a mystery. 

There was a small bit of humor that accompanied the mad rush some people were in to get things ready for their big feast. They’d run out of placemats on Tuesday and Steve had informed him that a woman had bought up all the orange and brown felt rectangles to use as a replacement, complaining the entire time about how slippery they would be on her hardwood table. The security guard couldn’t help but imagine said unknown family and friends scooting plates around instead of passing them.

With his new demeanor James made it around the store four blessed times in a row before someone asked where the bathroom was, another alpha, who was undeterred by his bitter face. His mask of unhappiness fell away for a moment as he became somewhat thankful for the normal question amongst all the others. Forgetting to put it back on saw someone look in his direction quizzically before he switched back to it a second later, which caused the person to look away as if he had growled at them. Thank goodness.

One of the quieter areas of the store happened to be the framing department. Though he wasn’t back there all the time to see how many people spoke to Bruce at the front counter, when he did pass by the kind alpha had only been speaking to two separate customers. James passed by without saying anything, keeping up his dark expression without too much thought, though if they had caught eyes, he would’ve lifted it for a moment to nod in the managers direction. Most of his coworkers had witnessed and chuckled at his avoidance of persistent people, and all of the stockers thought it was hilarious. Everyone consistently warned him about the weeks to come when things would only get worse and, quite frankly, it was beginning to worry him. Could the Christmas season really be that bad?

Bruce waved him over on one of his many walks through the store, after they’d finally matched each other’s stare. He smiled at the security guard his eyes full of mirth as he leaned against the counter to take in his appearance.

“You’re probably the only employee that can get away with making that face,” he chuckled.

“I don’t know how everyone can keep smiling all the time,” James grunted while adjusting his hat. It’d started to encroach down his forehead and threaten his eyesight as he paced around the aisles. 

“Well,” Bruce started. “Scott is a marvel, Thor is too happy, and everyone else is dead inside,” he said, giving his best customer service smile.

“Makes sense,” the army veteran muttered.

“It’ll calm back down in January,” the other man explained.

“Everyone keeps warning me about the coming weeks,” James sighed. “Is it really that bad?” Bruce nodded in response, his expression changing into one more apologetic before he spoke again.

“Sunny and I are about to get so busy you’ll almost never see us out of the workshop. It’ll be like we don’t exist for a few weeks,” he groaned. “Just thinking about it gives me a headache.”

“So that means,” the younger alpha stopped himself short. Imagining lines backed up into the aisles, shelves in chaos, customers approaching him regardless of his expression, and the look of defeat in his coworker's eyes made him cringe. “Great,” he deadpanned.

“Yeah,” the older man nodded. “Anyway, tomorrow,” he changed the subject. “Steve said you two were coming?”

“That’s the plan. Do we need to bring a dish?” The veteran asked.

“I think we have almost everything covered, maybe some extra rolls, or beer, if that’s what you prefer to drink. Tony has a lot of alcohol, but it’s mostly the really strong stuff,” he explained.

“Lot of people coming?”

“Not as many as last year,” he said before remembering who he was talking to. “About seven or so. Dinner is at seven, but you’re welcome to come early to help us make things or just hang out.”

“We’ll see you then,” James nodded before walking away.

The alpha wasn’t the best at ending conversations, especially with people he considered friends. When it came to talking to customers it was perfect, because he didn’t have to say goodbye or worry about whether or not he was nice to them. If they did see each other again there was a good chance he wouldn’t recognize them and they didn’t expect him to. Yet, when it came to people he liked and wanted to speak with again, or those he spent almost every day with at work, his departures always felt abrupt. Steve was used to it, expected it, but James always wondered what everyone else thought. Did they think he was being cold? Or unfriendly?

He questioned Steve about it on the way home, growling darkly when his friend laughed instead of answering before assuring him that everyone had gotten used to him after the first week. It wasn’t that he didn’t like anyone, it was just that he had the temperament of a ‘bitter old man,’ was what Sam had said of him. His reaction to the title he had been given made Steve laugh all the more as it shifted between shock and disdain, eyes scrunching up in confusion while his lips turned downwards grumpily. 

It was up to James to make the dinner rolls. Though the other, short haired, alpha had offered to buy them at the store the metal-armed vet couldn’t stand the thought of bringing whatever thirty ingredient sponges were left on the shelves. Before he’d finally mustered up enough of his bitter resolve to get a job, the long-haired alpha had been in charge of making food for them when they shared meals together. At first, it had been out of necessity. He’d been close to starved in the prison they’d held him in and when he returned most food in the states was too rich for him to keep down. He’d started to enjoy it more and more in the months that followed, and now made most things from scratch.

The next day, as he was getting all the ingredients together, Steve suggested he mix everything and bring it over to bake at Tony’s place, so they would be fresh. They were going early to help, something that his friend had done the year before and greatly enjoyed as it gave him a chance to get to know his coworkers even more. James didn’t really care either way, he didn’t have much in the way of expectations for how the night would go. There would be food, and booze, and talking, just like any other Thanksgiving he had been to.

Pulling into the long driveway of their boss’ house in Steve’s beat-up old jeep made James feel very out of place in front of the, at least three story, modern and expensive looking monstrous home. He’d known the guy was rich, but this felt like too much. There was, what looked to be, a large roundabout where a couple cars were already parked, the greenest grass he had ever seen in front of a house, and spendy landscaping that made the house even more ridiculous. His best first nodded slowly next to him as he gawked at the sheer size of everything.

“I know,” was all Steve said.

As they walked up the steps to the front door it opened before they could even try to locate a doorbell, beckoning them inside with a voice that told them everyone was in the kitchen. The disembodied person even beckoned them towards a closet for their jackets before it led into a grand entrance with dark hardwood floors and modern décor that James wasn’t prepared for. Thank goodness Steve had been there before, else he would’ve gotten lost trying to find the kitchen as they wound past a few rooms. He tried to take in everything as quickly as possible before the walls cleared away to a large open space of a combination of the kitchen, which had the nicest equipment and tools James had ever seen, and what was possibly a living room. There could be three or four for all he knew. A huge, fluffy looking, dark red carpet created the area where a large sectional couch covered in blankets and pillows stood. The wall in front of it consisted almost entirely of windows that looked over the forest behind their house, except for a fancy fireplace with tons of extra wood off to the side. There was also a giant flat screen tv above it.

James felt overwhelmed trying to process everything as he thought of their meager apartment and furniture. The fact that people and houses like this existed blew his mind. Baffled, but not showing it, he turned his attention towards the familiar faces of his coworkers instead. Natsha was the first one he recognized, the floor manager was busy chopping up vegetables and nodded at them briefly as they walked in. It was nice to see her out of the store, dressed in a casual black dress that fit her form perfectly, she looked like she belonged in the house. Bruce was at the oven, pulling open the door to glance inside at more than a few different sized baking trays.

Before they could say  anything, Wanda and Pietro appeared looking somewhat tired as Tony’s voice caught up to them. 

“You’ll have to come over and see it when it’s finished,” he said to the twins. His expression changing when he saw that two more people had arrived.

“Welcome in,” the omega beamed. “I see Jarvis took your coats; would you like a tour of the house? I know I showed you last year Steve but so much has changed since then, I’ve done so many things.” James paled slightly at the thought of walking around and having to take in even more luxury things and his friend noticed with a laugh. Steve was better at faking things, he would be able to praise Tony like he needed, making their host preen at a job well done.

“Bucky has come to help cook, but I would love to have a new tour,” the alpha confessed.

“After dinner for you then,” their boss nodded before leading the way. They watched them leave before sighing in relief, Bruce chuckling at the antics of his mate while turning to address everyone.

“He’s just excited to show off, wants everyone to feel welcome and informed,” the older man explained.

“As if I don’t hear him talk enough at work,” Pietro grumbled. 

When Tony was at the store, he spent most of his time in the main office, which was right next to where the beta worked. James couldn’t imagine what that was like. It wasn’t that he was that much of a chatterbox, only that he often spoke of things that no one else really cared for. God forbid if their interests happened to line up on a certain topic, he’d seek them out for days until they’d covered everything. It was kind of cute in a way, the way the omega could still get so excited about things he liked.

“He’ll calm down once Sunny gets here,” Bruce laughed. His body exuding a comforting aura that made the alpha feel warm and welcome in the space as he remembered his conversation with Steve the previous day.

“Who all is coming?” James questioned.

“We’re only missing Loki and Sunny, though Loki called and said he might end up getting dragged along by Thor. We’ll see,” he explained.

“He’s definitely getting dragged,” Natasha muttered.

“Thor is hard to say no to,” Wanda agreed.

“Just Sunny then,” James nodded as he put his rolls onto the counter. There was a large island that broke up the space in the kitchen, with chairs on one side, where Wanda and Pietro were settling themselves. “I brought sweet and savory dinner rolls; they need a half hour in the oven.”

“Oh, you made them?” Natasha asked as he pulled them out.

“The ones at the store hardly count as food,” he deadpanned making Bruce chuckle.

“Just wasn’t expecting it,” the red head replied. Her scent lilting out to showcase her mood, which was slightly impressed.

With all the smells of food in the kitchen it was hard to pick out who’s pheromones belonged to who until he got closer to them, but they all smelled faintly of comfort and anticipation. Ready to spend the evening in good company and a warm house that smelled of food and friends, it’d been a while since he’d felt something like that. 

“What do you need help with?” He asked after placing his pans off to the side. 

Bruce started talking about what was already in the oven and what still needed to be done, speaking to him with the same tone they always shared at work. It was nice to see that nothing had changed from store to home life, the army veteran relaxed at the realization. He’d really stumbled into a good job.

“Make yourselves useful,” Natasha grumbled at the twins who had started giving their opinions on the dishes as they were listed out. The snappy alpha pushed a big bowl of washed potatoes at them before giving one of them a peeler and the other a cutting board and knife. “Peel, cut, boil,” she pointed at the large saucepan on the stove last.

“Yes ma’am,” they said sarcastically bust started all the same.

Steve returned with a very satisfied looking Tony who kissed his mate on the cheek and seemed to glow at Bruce’s words of praise. It was almost sickening how well the pair fit together. With everyone back in the kitchen, each of them assigned their own foods and dishes to prepare, they settled into the heat of the oven and stove. Getting in each other's way a few times, but ultimately walking in and out of the area as different timers went off and food needed to be stirred or moved around. It reminded James of when he was a child, smashed into his family's tiny home as they prepared everything together. The nostalgia warmed him all over again, listening to the chatter that he didn’t have to contribute to but still feel involved in.

Compliments for knowing his way around the kitchen got tossed at James as he kept his eye on things that weren’t even assigned to him. It felt good and he unconsciously puffed-up at the flattery.

For whatever reason, though he tried not to, James commented something about wanting a similar stove someday and Tony jumped on the opportunity to impress. How he’d researched and called around to get, only the best, for his mate. The omega had his back to the open hallway and jumped when someone hugged him from behind, their small arms appearing around his stomach at the same time that a voice spoke.

“Sunny has arrived,” the same voice from the door informed them. When James had questioned Bruce about it the alpha confessed it was one of his mate’s grand inventions. Jarvis was a high-tech security support system that could be accessed from anywhere in the house, tony was very proud of it.

“Is that what happened?” Natasha said sarcastically.

“I left as soon as I could,” her voice said from behind Tony. The older omega patted her hands before turning around to hug her properly, moving out of the way as Bruce appeared to ruffle her hair. “Hi everyone,” she said softly after popping out from behind the couple.

“Hi Sunny,” the twins greeted her with a smile. Pietro was in the middle of mashing the potatoes while his sister added milk and butter.

“How did dinner with your family go?” The red-haired alpha questioned. The little omega looked thoughtful for a moment while her pheromones betrayed her as the scent of disappointment floated into the kitchen.

“Not so good,” she said simply. She then walked back the way she came to appear with a large brown box that she lifted above her head like a trophy. “But I brought pie,” she tried to mask the smell with one of forced cheer.

Everyone in the kitchen reacted differently to the disheartened omega in front of them. The two betas, who couldn’t quite pick up her scent from next to the stove, shared a brief glare at her words alone while Natasha’s expression stiffened slightly. Bruce’s own pheromones were bitter for a second before Tony nudged him and Steve offered his friend a grimace as he repressed the urge to growl. Anytime the family was mentioned it was accompanied with some form of past or present hurt to the omega and his inner alpha hated it.

“You didn’t make that did you?” Wanda paled suddenly, immediately lightening the mood.

“I refuse to eat a charred pie crust again,” Pietro muttered.

“Annie got it from her job and gave it to me,” she explained with a pout.

“Thank goodness,” the male beta sighed. Sunny scowled at him while placing the box on the counter before taking her jacket off and disappearing once again.

“Does she ever have a nice time with her folks?” His sister questioned. Tony, Bruce, and Natasha shook their heads, expressions between a frown and glare.

“Makes me happy we don’t have any,” Pietro joked, earning a laugh from the older omega.

“I’ll ask her about it later,” Bruce mumbled.

She returned a few moments later minus a couple layers of clothing. She was wearing a baggy, dark blue, turtleneck knitted sweater, black leggings and grey ankle boots, mirroring the same relaxed style of most everyone else in the house. Bruce and Tony had gone with a classier casual look that Steve and James tried for, though it looked less fancy with their limited funds. The twins wore black jeans, Wanda sporting a black long-sleeved shirt and red cardigan while Pietro had a dark green sweater with a white button-down peeking from beneath the collar.

Besides the clothing, there was something different about Sunny that James couldn’t quite place until she moved to help the other omega set the table. For the first time, since he’d first met her, the messy hairstyle that he’d gotten used to had been combed neatly and tucked behind her ears as best as she could. It gave her a tidy and doll like appearance that tugged on his inner alpha’s heartstrings.

Her appearance, coupled with her slightly bitter smell and comment had him wanting to comfort the little omega. Pick her up and scent her until she was completely covered in his soothing pheromones and incapable of feeling even the slightest bit of discomfort. The thought surprised him and James had to stop himself short before he could imagine anything else with the girl who had fit perfectly against his chest.

“Makes you want to pick her up and smother her, doesn’t it?” Steve grumbled at his friend as he carried a steaming dish towards the table.

James was sure all four of the alpha’s in the room were having the same thoughts, as it was hard for them to suppress the urge to comfort an omega in distress. It was why omegas were required to wear scent blockers and take suppressants if they wanted to work or go to school. Their scents were easier to pick up for alphas and could change rapidly throughout the day at the smallest emotion. Switching between happiness and despair in the span of a few seconds and giving anyone nearby whiplash as their second genders reacted. Even mated alphas still felt the urge to protect an omega in pain, which could cause trouble for the mate or others involved.

Doing his best to bury those feelings James started moving dishes over to the table as well, eyes widening at the large table with seven chairs on either side and two large ones at the end. They only needed eight and had set up everything on half of the table instead of spreading it out as much as possible. Bruce encouraged them to pour themselves some wine as Sunny finished filling each of their glasses with water from a tall pitcher.

All the food looked amazing as it was laid out, still steaming as it was fresh from the three ovens they had in the kitchen. His own, simple, kitchen could never even hope to compare with the one the boss had here, and James was jealous. Tony sat himself down the fastest, taking the first chair on the left and smiled as his mate settled into the chair in front of him. Natasha sat next to the older omega and the rest of them began to sit down as well. Wanda and Steve filled in on Tony’s side while Pietro and Sunny sat on the other, leaving James the seat across from his roommate and best friend as well as next to the girl. He couldn’t help but breathe in her lemony scent as he sank into the chair and nodded at her briefly, a soft smile touched her lips as she returned it.

The meal started with Bruce carving the turkey, giving the first piece to his mate before dishing it out to everyone else, who raised their plates towards him instead of passing it along. There was a lot of small chatter at the start as they argued and joked about who would eat the most of which dish, or how little someone had taken of another. Sunny nearly spilled the gravy on herself before James’ hand steadied it in the air, her face had flushed bright red in embarrassment as she mumbled a thank you. Thanks to Steve, the cranberry spoon almost disappeared into the dish, and Wanda was unfortunate enough to dip her long hair into her food a couple times before she tied it back.

Conversation came easy, they smiled and picked on each other as if they had been doing so for years and James fell into the easy flow of the meal. He’d poured himself some wine along with Steve, Wanda, Natasha, and Tony and felt himself relax all the more as it settled into his system. It’d been a long time since he’d felt so accepted and welcomed into a home that was clearly out of his league, a house he’d driven by many times in multiple different states and scoffed at. They shared stories about holidays from when they were kids, horrible vacations they went on, and the worst customers they had ever encountered. At one point, Steve nudged him with his foot from under the table, a giant grin on his face after James had actually, genuinely, smiled. It immediately fell away at his friends teasing, but the feeling of warmth persisted regardless.

They finished at different times but stayed around the table until everyone had gotten has much as they wanted, though Pietro had warned them halfway that there was still dessert to be had in the form of pie. A few of them groaned at the thought of more food, but the younger ones in the group shared an excited look. 

Since not everyone wanted it as quickly as the two betas and younger  omega they agreed to clean up the table for now and they could eat their slices at the table or in the kitchen. Three different pies were pulled out of the oven, Bruce had put them in after he turned off the oven before they sat down for dinner, to warm them up. He also took out a carton of vanilla ice cream and a can of spray whipped cream that Tony immediately picked up and shot into his mouth. His alpha gave him a sideways glare with a small huff before getting some smaller plates and forks.

“There’s pumpkin, pecan, and Annie’s strawberry rhubarb,” the older alpha said. “I’ll scoop the ice cream,” he grabbed a spoon and took the lid off.

“You act like we’re children,” Pietro grumbled.

“Aren’t you?” Tony teased them.

“I’d say so,” Bruce agreed.

Sunny went straight for the one she brought in, cutting the pie into eight pieces before taking one, that was probably a bit too big for her to eat right after the hoard of food that was dinner. A second later Bruce covered it in ice cream, one scoop becoming two and then three as Steve and James looked at him skeptically.

“This is how she likes it,” he defended himself. 

“ S’true ,” the omega mumbled.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Tony assured her. “But Please don’t eat it on the couch this year.” He patted her on the head. She set the plate in front of one of the island seats and muttered something to herself that only the other omega could hear. He poked one of her cheeks in retaliation and she pulled away with a pout making the man laugh. 

The way the couple treated her was very much like they were a real family, instead of the somewhat adopted one that Bruce had told him about. She even smelled a little bit like the both of them underneath her bright citrusy scent and James was reminded of what Bruce had said earlier as he settled next to the girl after the twins were satisfied with their plates. Tony got the hint and pulled everyone away from the kitchen and more towards the living room so she could talk without feeling too exposed. 

James glanced back at them and couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lips as Bruce sat down next to the girl, hand cupping the side of her face for a moment. She leaned into the touch but continued looking down as he moved his hand to scratch at her scalp the same way he’d seen alpha fathers do to comfort their young pups. It was likely something Sunny had never received from her beta parents and siblings, which was sad, as it was an important thing for young omegas. He looked away as she started to nuzzle closer to the alpha, her eyes falling shut as she relaxed more into his touch.

The rest of them moved back to the table and resumed their idle conversations as Wanda and Pietro gave their opinions of the pies, both of them had taken a little bit of each one in order to judge which was best. Tony took the opportunity to show James around the house and Steve joined him to help contribute comments and fill in the silence that was sure to ensue with the usually grumpy and quiet alpha. It was too much, the house and all his little gadgets and creations filled up a good portion of the third floor while the second one had mostly bed and guest rooms. One of them smelled fresh and familiar and had James straying for a moment as he wondered what the girls room looked like.

When they got back Steve was a little worse for wear and though James had only been through the one time, he wore a similar expression. Bruce was tidying up in the kitchen and motioned them to come over to him, or perhaps just Tony, but they all moved as a group regardless. The rest of them were sitting on the couch watching an old recording of the parade that they had probably all neglected to watch that morning. Sunny had shoved herself into the corner with one of the beta twins on either side as they critiqued the floats and people lip synching poorly. Natasha was a cushion away from them, still swirling a little bit of wine in her glass as she half watched the television and the others with a fond smile on her face.

“She didn’t tell me very much,” Bruce started with a frown. “But her parents found out about what happened that night and started berating her for living by herself,” he grumbled. “They brought it up again at dinner, with everyone.”

“Oh no,” Tony cringed.

“Yeah, they ganged up on her,” he said sadly. “Tried to make her spend the night, keep her there, but her sister-in-law helped her leave. She was pretty angry at them, but mostly disappointed.”

“I’m angry too,” the omega seethed.

“Do you think they’ll go to her place?” Steve questioned. They knew where she lived, and although the drive was a little over an hour, it was definitely doable. “Isn’t Annie a beta? That doesn’t offer her much protection.”

“They’ve never visited her before, but it is a possibility,” the older alpha muttered.

“Doesn’t matter, she can stay with us,” his mate snapped. “She’s spending the night here anyway.”

“She seems okay,” James mumbled without thinking. Tony and Bruce leveled him with equally unhappy stares, perhaps wondering why he was even there at all.

“She’s good at that, keeps everything bottled up until it spills over. Usually, around her heat, there's a couple days where she breaks down. It’s rough,” Tony explained. With a little too much wine in the omega he gave up more information than he usually would which caused his mate to scold him softly.

“What about-,” the man cut James off.

“Parents never really comforted or praised her as a kid, like you're supposed to with an omega, to keep them confident and all. She spent most of her time in that house alone, trying to figure out everything by herself,”  he scowled.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Bruce groaned. He then took his mate by the shoulders and steered him in the direction of the couch. “Time to watch the parade,” he said pushing him down next to Natasha.

James, who’d been nurturing a small flame of anger since the omega had first appeared with her slightly bitter scent, was now stewing in disdain. She didn’t deserve it, the girl who spent her time creating beautiful things to make people smile kept everything, all her pain and hurt to herself. Her parents, even if they were betas, should have been there for her, should have done something.

“Bucky,” his friend whispered, letting out soothing pheromones to help him calm down. “Your scent is really strong right now, really sharp and bitter. She’s here now,” he hushed. 

Knowing what his friend was getting so worked up about but also understanding that she at least had people who cared about her now. Tony and Bruce wanted nothing else but to help and care for her as if she was their own. The metal-armed vet turned on him with a snarl before taking a deep breath, he likely felt responsible for the little omega after saving her all those nights ago. Steve couldn’t blame him, hers was a sad story, but a common one. He’d seen a bit more of it since returning almost two years ago, but Bucky was still getting used to everything again.

“Fuckers,” he seethed.

“Save it for the gym,” Steve muttered.

“Whatever,” he snapped. He then took a few moments to settle down and his scent went mostly back to normal as he walked over to take a spot on the couch as well. He couldn’t help but glance at the omega who met his stare with a little smile that he almost growled at.

Bruce sat on the edge of the couch, closest to the fireplace so he could tend it as they laughed and began to get drowsy. When Wanda and Sunny began to doze Pietro stood with a groan, stretching out his arms and back before announcing that it was time for them to get going. He roused his sister, who hugged the girl next to her awkwardly before stumbling towards the kitchen as Tony, fumbling just as much, rushed to give them a container of leftovers to take home. Natasha rose as well, getting another package of the goods as she steered the younger betas towards the door, telling Bruce that she’d follow them most of the way home to make sure they were okay. They’d see each other at work the next day and settled for mumbled goodbyes, waving idly as they disappeared into the hallway. Tony moved to occupy the spot that Wanda had vacated and Sunny hesitantly leaned against him, rubbing her face on his shoulder. 

The two omegas slowly drifted off and left the rest of the alphas to smile fondly at the image, especially when the soft sound of purring could be occasionally heard from the younger of the two. Even their scents mixed together to ooze out something soft and tantalizing, two satisfied omegas sleeping wasn’t a common sight. James had the sudden urge to caress her face and feel the soft rumbling of her contentment for himself, his inner alpha longing for the warmth she would bring. Instead, he sat resolutely in his place, raising his eyebrows at Steve in question without speaking.

“We’ll go as well, think they’re done for the night,” Steve said standing from his spot. Reluctantly turning away from the plushness that was doing  its best to lull him to sleep as well.

“They were done an hour ago,” Bruce chuckled.

“Thank you for inviting us,” James said, and he meant it. Whether or not the other alpha could tell was a mystery, but that was okay.

“Thanks for coming, don’t forget your food, Jarvis will let you out,” the older alpha called out softly, not wanting to wake the sleepers. He had moved behind the couch to ruffle the two omegas hair, leaning down to whisper something when Tony roused a bit. It was the last thing James saw before the disembodied voice of Jarvis reminded them of their jackets and wished them a good night.

James and Steve didn’t say anything until they were at the end of the driveway, both of them thinking about the two omegas slumbering so innocently in their presence. Letting out a sweet scent and showing such a vulnerable appearance that was usually reserved for family and mates yet had been shown to them. Steve was imagining an omega of his own that he would spoil and sit next to, how they would snuggle into his arm or nuzzle his mating gland, while James was much of the same. Except that he was thinking about Sunny.

“Omega’s are dangerous,” Steve finally muttered, trying to push the thoughts from his mind.

“Yup,” James agreed almost immediately.


	5. Chapter 5

Wanda and Pietro were a lot friendlier to him in the days that followed and, though Natasha seemed much the same, would more often smile and wave at him as he passed by. Sunny and Bruce remained unchanged, the older alpha nodded, questioned him with his eyes, and grinned at him like usual. While the little omega, who he had rarely seen outside the workshop in the first place, stayed hidden behind the wall of the framing department. The times they did pass by, which were limited to her arriving, leaving, or taking a break, she offered him a soft expression, one that only appeared after that evening. James recognized it as one she gave to her friends after watching her greet Loki and then turn blandly to a customer with a fake, and forced, grin that pulled at her lips.

The days grew colder and darker, dark nights seemed to start as early as five in the afternoon making eight in the evening feel much closer to midnight than it need be. Christmas lights had been cast over trees and bushes, tacked to houses and balconies before November even ended, dragging out the biggest holiday of the year even more. Steve was more festive than James, but not by much. Their door had no wreath, their windows no lights, and living room no tree. What they had was a small fake poinsettia that had been damaged in the store and given to them by Wanda, and a red and white pillow that was shaped like a Santa hat. Its appearance had made James chuckle slightly at their poor attempt, though  neither of them seemed to mind.

It was getting busier and new work schedules saw them at the store more and more and at home less and less. James almost saw it as a blessing. Going back to the comfortable, yet somewhat empty, apartment made him miss past holidays with his family, and the years long since passed and gone. Of candy canes, wrapped presents, and the uncontainable joy that used to brimmed beneath his skin, threatening to explode until the final morning. Afterwards running to his best friend in order to compare gifts in the cold until they were called back inside with red cheeks for dinner. To be snuggled and washed in cheerful pheromones, scented by family until their smells were interchangeable and full of warmth.

The memories were somewhat painful as James mused and dreamed of better times. Days where he didn’t grab at an arm that no longer existed, fingers finding cold metal where skin and bone had been replaced. Nightmares that left him gasping and looking around his room frantically, as if he was still being held captive and had to worry about simply staying alive. Looking back into the past made him ache, those unattainable days would never brush against his fingertips again and it hurt. Steve did his best to make James feel at home at the apartment, his presence alone doing most of the work but he could tell the security guard was off. What was there to look forward to?

A more recent memory he found himself looking back on was the warm, almost dreamlike, glow of Thanksgiving and the contentment he’d felt merely standing in the kitchen that night. He’d never been there before and honestly felt daunted by the sheer size and richness the house conveyed yet he felt so at home. The stories they’d shared, food made together, and even anger towards other family members, which was the usual at most gatherings, had made him feel so at home and warm. In the darkness of his and Steve’s shared apartment, staring at his clock in the middle of the night made him feel like it never happened.

Which was why he preferred to be at the store as much as possible, even though people had started to ask him where things were again and check in the back. It was better than going home to that dark, empty place that was nothing more than a place to sleep and look to the past. The store, though packed with irritated customers, was bright and bursting with holiday cheer thanks to the seemingly unending supply of red and white decorations. What they didn’t have already made could be created from the any number of materials in the store, and some of them already came in pre-packaged bundles.

By the middle of the second week of December James had gotten into a sort of rhythm, or trance, when it came to going to work, stomping around the store, and going home to rinse and repeat. There were trips to the gym, light conversations with Steve, and grocery shopping thrown in the mix as well, but mostly he focused on work. It was distracting and that was what he needed at the moment.

Fleetingly he would think about Sunny, her family situation, and how she had looked on the couch that night. It had triggered something within his inner alpha that was very hard to squash down and often, when his mind wandered, he found it gently touching at the memory of her soft purrs in the quiet of the house. The part of himself that he refused so bitterly wanted her leaning against him on the couch or caressing her cheek like he had seen Bruce do. Like he had almost done that very first night that they met and she was soft and shaking in his arms.

When persisting thoughts bubbled and rose in his mind, he forced them down and so he pushed and hid such things away in the back of his mind. This was just a job and she was merely a coworker who happened to be an omega, nothing more. The first week in the store he’d thought of a few other employee’s in much the same way, how he could hold them, how they might feel in his arms. Sunny wasn’t special.

“James are you busy?” Natasha’s voice pulled him out of his gaze over the registers. His walkie talkie had been replaced with an ear piece after Tony had announced the old technology was too cumbersome and obvious.

“Nope,” he responded quickly. Mostly he was called to offer additional support to any of his coworkers who felt like they were getting taken advantage of or  harassed and sometimes when they needed someone tall.

“There’s a couple angry moms back here in frames, care to lend us your scary face?” She asked, but it didn’t sound like a question. 

There were now about two weeks left until the twenty-fifth and people were beginning to get desperate for certain items in the store. Most of their art kits or value packs had been bought and sold out for a few days now, the model aisle was greatly picked over, and others looked quite scarce as well. A few days ago, Bruce had placed a sign on the front counter of the framing department that informed any hopeful customers they would no longer be accepting new orders until the holidays were over. There was a bell for those who needed help with small things or if they had come to pick up an order. For the first time since he started working there Bruce and Sunny were both hidden away in the workshop, leaving the front of their area empty.

He’d already seen a few unhappy customers trying to argue with the alpha, but he was very good about getting them to calm down and explain the situation. They were swamped and with only two workers in the department it was unlikely that they would have enough time to slip something in at this point in time. Usually, those on the other side of the counter understood and walk away sullenly, muttering about how they should’ve ordered sooner. Some of them were angry and tried to complain to Loki in the front of the store, who was almost excited to shut them down.

Voices grew louder as he got closer to the back of the store, the security prepared himself by darkening his features and pouring out as much of his bitter alpha pheromones as he could. Which only proved to mix in with the other angry scents that met him as he came upon the framing department that didn’t spare him a glance as he approached.

Bruce stood behind the counter, a stony expression of indifference on his face as he spoke calmly to the people in front of him. He looked tired and done with the whole conversation yet the two refused to back down, even as Natasha tried to explain why things were playing out that way. Even if they accepted their order right now the piece wouldn’t be done until after the year was over, they were unable to rush an order or accept more money as a bribe to finish faster. She saw James from the corner of her eyes and seemed to sigh in relief at his approaching figure.

The women, an alpha and beta, were nearly spitting at Bruce as they hissed about bad customer service and how they could get him fired for treating them this way. There was no sign of Sunny, though James could imagine her hiding in the workshop behind them, hands over her ears as she tried to ignore the stink of disdain the women were exuding. The fierceness of their pheromones was more than enough to make an omega wilt and if she were the one facing them instead of Bruce, she’d be cowering.

“James,” Natasha caught everyone else's’ attention and directed it at the security guard. He put himself a couple steps to the side of the two women at the counter, and looked down his nose at them with a murderous glare. “Please escort these two out of the store.”

They had pale skin and a sort of bob haircut; eyes full of malice that faltered when turning to direct their glares at him. He was taller than them by at least five inches and straightened up further when they hesitated, trying to decide if it was worth the hassle to continue. The more bitter of the two, the alpha, decided it was and let out another wave of unpleasant pheromones before she opened her mouth to retort, but James was faster.

“You’re disrupting the other customers,” he motioned behind him. As he’d approached there were a few people here and there that lingered around the department, curious as to what was happening. They now looked on disapprovingly, watching from afar to see if they were going to listen and leave or face the much taller, much angrier security guard.

At his comment the alpha glanced around herself, taking in the quiet look of disdain from Bruce, an irritated one from Natasha, and the judgmental stares of half a dozen customers looking on. Combined with the dominant appearance of James, who was exuding powerful pheromones, her defiant attitude finally drooped.

“I’ll walk you out,” he smiled at them. It was one of the fakest expressions he’d ever worn in his life and felt strange as it pulled his lips up slightly. This was what Bruce had been talking about, the customer service smile, he’d finally gotten the hang of it. 

The two managers behind him sagged in relief as he turned to follow the two ladies out of the store offering only a small nod in return before he was walking away. As soon as the framing department was out of sight the two women continued chittering their warranted grief and how they were still planning to file a complaint to the store owner. James couldn’t help the words that slipped from his mouth then, as he informed them that he was sure it would go over well since Bruce was his mate. Later he would grin fondly at the memory of their faces paling and how they shushed each other to walk even faster towards the door.

As he stared after them grumpily Peter caught his attention with a laugh, expression turning into one of humor when he caught the army veteran's attention.

“Was that your first Karen?” He mused, earning a grin from Ned who was still helping a customer. Peter had just placed a closed sign on his register as James surmised that it was about time for one of them to go on break.

“You know her name?” He questioned of the beta. Which only made him laugh in response before shaking his head.

“That’s what we call those customers, the ones with a crappy attitude and a haircut that screams, ‘let me talk to your manager’ or superior,” Peter explained. “They always think they deserve so much better, and usually throw a fit, screaming all the way out the store. Loki gets them a lot,” he said of the tall beta.

“Who?” Loki asked, hearing the tail end of the conversation.

“Karens,” the younger answered.

“Oh,” the taller man softened. “They’re my favorite,” he grinned. “They get so mad, and angry and I get so shut them down.”

“We always send them to his register,” Ned chimed in.

“When they ask for a manager, I get to tell them that I am the manager,” Loki continued to smirk just thinking about it. “It’s great.”

Peter and James exchanged a knowing look before he was moving towards the back of the store again, to see if they needed anything else from him and make sure they were okay. Sunny flashing in his mind for a second as he thought about what she was doing during all the yelling and anger. Natasha passed him as he walked into the section, thanking him quickly before disappearing between the aisles. As he got closer to the counter Bruce smiled at him warmly.

“Everything okay now?” James asked, glancing around to see if Sunny might appear.

“It is,” the man nodded. “Unfortunately, we’re used to dealing with angry customers this time of year, even Sunny barely flinches anymore. Unless she happens to be at the counter anyway,” he muttered the last part. “But thanks to you it ended very quickly. Please, never change your angry face,” the alpha chuckled.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” the security guard countered. 

Nothing much happened with the remainder of that day, though Steve congratulated him on a job well done defeating his first Karen. Apparently, Peter had mentioned something about it in the break room and then they’d ranted about bad customers for a little while before going their separate ways. 

They’d never had a fight break out in the store, but had their fair share of people demanding things that wouldn’t happen. As it was at any store during the holidays, for some reason the lure of deals and gifts drive customers insane and left employees in a grim mood. Apparently, according to Steve, even Thor was beginning to dim slightly as the days went on. Though all it took was a mention of his mate for him to cheer back up again, which the other stockers were used to, one comment and he was grinning like an idiot.

James had never expected he would get into a fight with someone at a craft store anyway, what would they even trade fists over? A sale on paint? Or yarn? No, definitely not. After finding out that the framing department saw a lot of bitter behavior the security guard lingered in the area more than usual. Which felt silly because there was hardly ever anyone at the counter anymore, with Bruce mainly in the back finishing up orders and Sunny never around anyway. He was often watching a section deserted of workers and opening himself up to others who had questions about sales and dimensions that might have in the stock room.

At the beginning of the third week of December Tony arrived in the store with a giant grin on his face as he made his way to the offices. Everyone in the front of the store, which included James, Loki, Danny, and Scott, looked at each other skeptically before continuing on with their way, eyes glancing in the direction their boss went warily. He reappeared a half hour later holding a Santa hat upside down and going to each of them separately, making a couple comments before moving on to the next person. James eyed him as the omega, who had been smiling almost the entire time, walked up to him with the hat, holding it as if it were a trophy.

“We do secret Santa here,” he explained, offering the garment to him expectantly.

“Do I have a-,” the alpha started to ask.

“Nope,” Tony hummed.

“Okay,” he grunted before reaching for a slip of paper.

“Limit on the gift is around twenty-five to thirty dollars, we open them at the party on the twenty first. Some people are going out of town, so we have to do it early this year,” he explained as if James knew the difference. 

“And if I don’t know anything about them?”

“Guess,” the omega shrugged.

“Great,” the alpha muttered while pulling a  piece out and unfolding it. Sam, it said. He barely knew the guy, fantastic.

“It’ll be fun,” Tony assured him before walking off towards linens. James looked after the man with a frown, crumpling the paper a little before stuffing it into his pocket. He turned his gaze back towards the registers to see Ned motioning for him to come over and his mind snapped back into action, wondering what the beta needed.

“Did you get someone good?” The beta asked and James relaxed. 

Most of the time, when one of the cashiers called him over, it was to talk about something not related to work. Danny explained that it helped them relax, or reset, after talking to customers for so long, because he usually let them talk about whatever with minimal replies. He didn’t mind, as long as he was being useful.

“Someone I barely know,” he remarked with a frown.

“That sucks,” the younger laughed. “But I’m in the same boat,” his voice darkened. “I mean I know them, but I have no idea what they would want.”

“A gift card,” James offered and Ned clicked his tongue.

“That’s a cop out, gift cards aren’t allowed,” he mumbled. “Last year was easy, I had Sunny. Got her this smushed seal pillow, real soft, and she loved it. And now I have,” he paused. “This person.”

“I got someone easy,” Danny said with a grin.

“Good for you,” his beta friend growled. “Did you find  everyth -,” James walked away as he started talking to a new customer with a fake smile plastered on his face. Moving to make his rounds through the store while doing his best to dodge the questioning glances of people looking for help. He’d gotten better at avoiding, but still hit a snag every so often.

On his way back up to the front, after sending three betas to the correct aisle and one alpha to the incorrect, on accident, James was nearing the cash registers again when he saw him. The same alpha from weeks prior who had taken Sunny’s pen and sniffed it so openly, as if they were courting or something. The security guard turned around immediately and headed straight for the framing department, hands fiddling with his earpiece as he debated alerting the managers or taking care of it himself. The latter won out; his expression hardening as he walked briskly towards the back of the store. Bruce would definitely be there, but that wouldn’t stop the man from requesting to see her.

Thankfully, the older alpha was at the counter already when James made it to the area, the other man was leaning on the counter, like he had done the last time he was here. If the manager noticed he didn’t say anything and instead disappeared into the workshop to retrieve whatever it was that was getting picked up.

He lingered in the area, this time watching from the end of the aisle a little way away, so the offending alpha wouldn’t notice him like he had before. It kept the security guard from being able to hear what was going on but it didn’t matter much in the end with Bruce at the helm. When the manager went back into the workroom to get the man’s order he took the time to glance around and even move further over the counter. Probably looking for any sign of the little omega that he had taken the pen from before, but she did not appear. He was soon on his way with a dark wooded frame and a frown on his face as he walked quickly towards the registers.

Bruce watched after him and couldn’t help but notice the security guard hovering over the area menacingly. The older alpha eyed him skeptically before motioning for him to  approach , perhaps he had a question of some sort and was waiting for the customer to leave.

“Need something?”

“Did that man give you any trouble?” James asked instead of answering.

“Not any more than normal,” the man chuckled. “Why?”

“That was the alpha that took Sunny’s pen,” he explained and Bruce nodded slowly. “I wanted to make sure everything was okay. Did he ask after her?”

“Unfortunately, I’m used to it,” the manager muttered. “A lot of alphas come asking after her, but I turn them away  real quick,” he grinned. “I’ve gotten good at it.”

“Anything I can do to help with that?” The security guard offered. Bruce seemed to consider it for a moment before shaking his head with a laugh.

“Not really,” he said. “Oh, did you get someone good for secret Santa?” When James’ expression went from hopeful to grumpy Bruce nodded in understanding, but couldn’t help the smirk that pulled up his lips. “Maybe ask Steve to help you, no gift cards,” he stated firmly.

“Ned told me,” the younger alpha nodded.

“Well, good luck.”

The remainder of his shift was easy and he spent a good portion of it thinking about Bruce and Sunny in the framing department and if there really was nothing he could do to help. Eventually his thoughts turned mostly towards the omega and how quickly he had reacted once recognizing the alpha from the other day. He had immediately imagined him going behind the counter in search of her, or how Bruce might growl at the man to go away once he revealed his ulterior motives. Of course, the older man would have it under control after working with her for at least a few years now, he wasn’t sure exactly how long. Also, because the girl had been practically adopted by the alpha and his mate, he was sure to know how things went around her.

It was one of the few, rare times, that James and his inner beast had been on the same page, seeing the man and remembering how he had scented the girl’s pen made both of them bitter at the memory. He hadn’t felt the need to push down his feelings when his legs were already moving in the same direction, wanting nothing more than to see the omega safe and away from harm. It was kind of strange as it had been a long time since James acted so brashly without thinking about it or having an endgame in mind.

In combat he was always a couple steps ahead of what he was doing and his mind often reeled through many possibilities and outcomes of his actions. Even when he’d gotten injured and captured the security guard had known such a thing was a risk and decided to do it anyway, but when it came to the omega. He’d second guess. The very first night, when she had been crying against his chest, he knew that a hug from him would only prove to add more to her trauma, yet his arms itched to wrap around her regardless. At Thanksgiving, when she’d fallen asleep on the couch, he’d known it wasn’t his place to sit next to her, or even touch her, but he longed to pull her into his lap and feel her purr against him.

He blamed it on the fact that she was an omega, because he hadn’t been around them much in the army, especially not ones who looked as warm as she did. At the same time, it was the holidays, and the last few days he’d been thinking of home and years past. He was lonely and looked on at couples in the store with slight envy his face betraying little emotion as he grumbled and ground his teeth together silently.

Later, as they were driving home, James asked his roommate about Sam and what the other stocker could possibly want as a gift for secret Santa. He’d barely spoken to the guy at all since starting there, but Steve worked with him almost every day, he was bound to know what the beta might want. The other alpha had gotten Danny and had the same question for his childhood friend, who spent most of his time in the front watching over the cashiers.

The beta was easy and had, upon many occasions, ranted to James about his favorite video games, though the alpha almost never responded. The security guard wasn’t too sure about the name anymore, as he mostly tuned out the kid when he started really getting into a topic, but it had something to do with a blue hedgehog. Steve knew what he was talking about thankfully and in return said Sam would probably want something to do with fitness. When the metal armed veteran gave him a bland look in response his friend had chuckled and said they could go shopping together and help each other out, which seemed like a good plan.

At the end of the night, he was back in his room, lying awake on the bed once again as he thought about his current life. After getting out of the army he’d done his best to adjust back into normal, mundane, life, without much of a plan with what to do afterwards. He hadn’t been thinking about his happiness back then and instead focused on what was best to keep him alive at the moment. Which involved food, stable income, social interaction, and getting a job. It was important to him that he could do it for Steve, who had felt the heaviest of guilt when finding out that he was, in fact, alive. His best friend had been after him constantly to get better, to go outside, and to stop being so angry and bitter about every little thing that he deemed to be going wrong.

James had been resentful, and so another goal was to release that feeling in a healthy way through exercise or boxing. Perhaps it was that he never thought he would make it this far that the feeling of what next now weighed so heavily on his mind. Was there anything he wanted from this second chance of life? Did he want to continue working as a security guard? What did he have to look forward to?

There wasn’t much, but at the moment he was looking forward to the Holiday party that would take place at Tony’s place once again. He was ready to step back into that house that was so foreign and untouchable, to feel the warmth that came from home cooked food, easy chatter, and a warm fire. The fact that he was getting a gift wasn’t too prominent on his mind because there was a good chance the person who picked his name knew absolutely nothing about him, but he didn’t care. Once he was  there he wouldn’t be thinking about past years or missed happiness from his decisions in life. There was bound to be awful, store bought, cookies with too much icing, shoddy wrapping jobs, and gifts that had nothing to do with the person they were given to. And he was excited.

That was something to look forward to.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to get this out last night, but, once again, the story got away from me and ended up waaay longer than i was anticipating. I hope everyone had a good, safe, New Years and that you enjoy the extra 2500 words in this chapter.

In the end, Steve ended up buying the gift for Sam while James bought the other for Danny. There was a new water bottle stuffed with protein bars for the other stocker and a sonic the hedgehog t-shirt with a couple little mystery figurines for the cashier. They’d been instructed that, upon entering Tony’s house, they were to leave their wrapped secret Santa gifts in the box by the front door, that way people wouldn’t be able to see who put down which one. Apparently, they’d learned how to do it best after a few years of trial and error.

The house was just as warm as James remembered it to be, if not more so, as the wind had started to pick up after six in the evening. The party was to start at seven thirty, and they’d even closed the store an hour earlier than usual to ensure that those with young families wouldn’t be out too late into the night. It was planned to go for a couple hours, but Tony assured everyone they could stay as long as they wanted to. The omega had gotten food from a local restaurant as a way to say thank you to all the staff for surviving the holidays and continuing to do so for that days that would follow until the end of the year.

Jarvis welcomed the two alphas in once again and directed them towards the coat closet, in case they had forgotten from last time, before they walked towards the kitchen and living room once more. Everyone from the store had been invited and the two were immediately greeted by Thor and his mate, who he introduced as Jane before she could even begin to put in her own words. She chided him for a second before offering her hand to James, as she’d already met Steve at a previous get together. She was a beta, if her muffled scent of rose was anything to go by, and offered the two of them a kind smile. Thor nearly shouted next to them as his attention turned towards someone across the room instead and Jane offered them an apologetic expression as she moved to follow.

“That’s how he was at the last party too,” Steve muttered to his friend. The security guard was, all at once, grateful that he didn’t work in the same department of the human megaphone and felt a little bad for those that did.

The area had changed since he’d last been and there was now a large Christmas tree in the space between the couch and dining room. It was at least ten feet tall and covered in different colored lights that faded in and out of the branches slowly. Red and white tinsel was wrapped around its entirety and the rest was decorated with different ornaments, half of them being the typical glass orbs and the others were varied in size and design. At the very bottom was a white, snowflake patterned, blanket to catch any stray needles or ornaments that might fall, hopefully preventing them from shattering.

Some of the pillows on the couch had been replaced with red and white ones and there were new polar bear and elf covered plush throws folded over the top of the couch should anyone decide to take a nap. At the thought James imagined Sunny curled up beneath one of them or clutching it close to her as she dozed, and the man nearly growled at the way his inner alpha burned with longing. With the little omega now in his thoughts the man couldn’t help but glance around the room at the rest of the people that had already arrived.

Natasha was in the kitchen talking with a woman James had never seen before while Clint spoke to, what he could only imagine to be, his kids in front of the television. They were holding some game controllers and moving awkwardly along with whatever was playing on the screen. Danny and Ned were sitting on the other side of the couch, probably continuing their talk from earlier in the day about some flash sale for computer games. Bruce walked out from the dining area to smile at them, a couple empty platters in his hands that he then stowed away in the kitchen island. The alpha moved to talk to them until something else caught his attention and he looked away.

Pietro was in the kitchen getting himself a cup of water and nodded towards them in greeting before Tony appeared with a small group trailing behind him. The omega was definitely showing them his house, and James had to admit it was cute how proud of it he was, though at the same time hoped nothing had changed since the previous month. Scott was walking with a woman with brown hair in a ponytail, the man wore a beaming smile as he looked at her, definitely his mate. Included in the group was also Peter, Sam, and Loki, who looked grumpy at having to join them around the  premises .

Which meant that they were missing Maria, who had been in charge of closing the store, Wanda, who was definitely there if her twin was in the kitchen, and Sunny. Upon seeing the two army veterans, Tony was in front of them in moments, asking how they were and thanking them for coming and bringing a gift for the secret Santa, as if they’d had a choice in that matter. He told them about the food he’d gotten, which was from a well-known, and five-star review Italian restaurant. There was lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken alfredo, garlic bread, and tons of salad, also a tray of four cheese ravioli for those who wanted to stay away from meat. Drinks were in a cooler, if they wanted water, they could get it from the fridge door, which had a filter, and any other alcohol was located in the dining room.

He asked them about their days after explaining everything and what their plans were for the holidays. They didn’t really have any, maybe dinner with a couple friends and then out for drinks during new year's, not such an exciting time. At their words Tony looked thoughtful for a few moments before Jarvis announced that Maria had arrived and they could now really get things started. While he bustled away to greet the woman Sunny and Wanda walked into the couch area where she said something to Peter who had joined the other cashiers on the couch. The other omega glanced around at everyone else who had arrived before her eyes landed on them, though James felt like she was looking at him specifically.

A small nod and soft smile were all she offered them before looking away and moving towards where Bruce was milling about the kitchen.

“Too bad you didn’t get Sunny, she’s easy to shop for,” Steve muttered before Thor got his attention.

Tony walked towards the tree with the gift box in hand and proceeded to place each present down carefully on the snowflake blanket while Bruce tried to gather everyone’s attention.

“Thank you all for coming,” he smiled. “And dragging your kids along,” he grinned at Clint. “There’s plenty of food for seconds, and thirds even, so help yourselves. Please don’t take the food to the couch, there’s space in the dining room for everyone, and a few seats at the counter.” He then repeated what his mate had said about drinks before moving on. “After everyone’s done eating, we’ll move on to the secret Santa and after that you’re free to go home,” he chuckled.

“Thank you for inviting us into  your amazing home!” Thor shouted in response. Jane looked slightly embarrassed but couldn’t help to agree while everyone else nodded along as well.

The dining room was also home to a circular table full of sweet and baked goods, cookies, pies, a cake, and a plate of rice crispy treats that already seemed to be missing, though James knew exactly where they had gone. He found himself sitting across from Scott and his alpha Hope, who firmly shook his hand upon introduction. She was sweet to her omega and the security guard found himself a little jealous at how easily they got along, little touches here and there that had the cashier brimming with happiness. They also had a daughter who had happily chosen to go to a  friend's house instead of coming to her  father's work party.

Loki sat to the left of him and motioned for Sunny to take the seat on the other side with Pietro and Wanda in tow, the beta smiled kindly at the little omega who nearly knocked over her cup of water. She blushed slightly and frowned while sitting down, making those around her chuckle and coo at her flushed expression. James couldn’t help the warmth that tugged at him when he saw it, if she had an alpha, they would’ve caught her drink and whispered about being more careful before ruffling her hair. Or perhaps that’s what he would’ve done.

More talk of plans for Christmas and New  Year's were shared at the table and most of them were planning on staying in, though the twins had been invited by Clint and his mate to join them on the twenty-fifth. The beta was a stern but fair man who seemed to hold a soft spot for the two of them, if they had nothing planned, he always invited them over to join his family. James had heard that they grew up mostly in foster care and knew nothing about their real parents. Tony hired them after contacting Pietro online about his quick and impenetrable security system and Clint had latched on soon after. It was good that they wouldn’t have to spend the holiday alone, James was happy for them.

Sunny was among the ones going home for the day, and possibly back again for New Year’s, although she wasn't too sure about that one yet. The look of discontent that flittered across Wanda and Loki’s face was hard to miss as the omega mentioned her family and James couldn’t help but think about her sullen behavior from Thanksgiving. Hopefully there wouldn’t be a repeat of what happened before. 

As more people sat down the conversation shifted to bad customers and crazy orders they’d gotten, before turning to sports and the latest software for computers and games. Though that was mostly held between Pietro and the cashiers, minus Loki who chatted with Sunny idly as she recounted the weirdest gifts she had ever gotten. Apparently, she was a nightmare with anything she had to remember to do, or feed. Fish, plants, chia pets, little Tamagotchi's, dead, all of them died under her care, but people never failed to give them to her as if she had suddenly become a different person.

The metal armed veteran found himself listening more to her conversation than any of the other ones, even though he was barely involved in it. She’d asked him a question at one point, about his favorite present as a child, but his answer had been short and he found that he’d rather listen instead of talk.

For dessert James grabbed what looked the most homemade, as cookies from the store were far too sweet for him, and ended up with a piece of chocolate cake and a peppermint sugar cookie. Sunny’s plate consisted of three rice crispy treats and nothing else, making Loki warn her not to eat too many and get sick like she had the year before.

“How many did she eat last year?” James couldn’t help but ask. During Halloween she’d eaten at least four, as he’d given her two and remembered Bruce going in and out a couple times to get them for her. The little omega blushed again as a handful of people turned towards her suddenly, curious as to how little  self-control the girl really had.

“It was something like-,” Loki muttered, trying to think of the right number. 

“Eight, I think,” Wanda finished for him. 

A shared look of disapproval and pity washed across their faces and Sunny tried to hide her shame behind a frown. An alpha would’ve been watching and stopped her early on, knowing that too many would give her a stomach ache.

“It was only six,” she muttered.

“That’s still too many, dear,” Scott ruffled her hair. She seemed to lean into it slightly and James’ earlier thought about what her mate would do rose to the top of his mind all at once. Would she do the same if an alpha had been the one to do it?

Pietro changed the conversation to something else and Sunny seemed to sigh in relief before getting up to take her plate back towards the kitchen. They were starting to disperse as people finished eating and Tony soon gathered them around the tree to hand out gifts. He instructed them to keep their features schooled so as to not give anything away, looking at a few of them in particular who were bad at hiding their expressions. Which included Scott, Sam, Danny, and Pietro.

Their boss finished by putting a red and white hat on his head before proclaiming that he was Santa and would be handing out the gifts. Natasha got hers first and pulled an expensive bottle of wine and high-tech opener out of a bag, being careful to put the tissue paper back inside after she was done. She thanked whoever it was and proceeded to read the label while Tony moved on. James half paid attention, focusing when it was time for people he knew, but otherwise stood in the little half circle they had formed calmly. When it came to Sam opening his gift, although it was technically from Steve at that point, the man nodded and seemed somewhat surprised as he looked inside.

“This is obviously from someone who knows me,” he said and then cast a glance around at the stocking crew. They all shrugged and offered him bland expression before he thanked the gift giver and moved on, Sam’s gaze hadn’t even gone in James direction in the slightest. They’d rarely spoken, it made sense.

Danny pulled out the t-shirt first, his eyes widened as it unfolded and he looked quickly around the room to see if  anyone's face was betraying them before turning it around. A burst of caramel scent seemed to wash over them for a moment as he glowed happily at what he’d been given, James almost smiled at his job well done but kept it hidden. He gushed further about the mystery figurine and rushed to open it and reveal his second favorite character, and then said he would save the other one for later. The security guard's inner alpha wanted to purr at the betas contentment but he shoved it down. 

A large, misshaped, wrapped object was given to Sunny, who squeezed it carefully and then moved to rip off the paper, which revealed a blanket and pack of socks that had raccoons as a pattern. For a moment everyone squinted to read what it said on the blanket before a few of them began to chuckle and laugh as she read it out loud to the others.

“Burrito blanket,” she said while turning it around to look at the picture on the back. It was made of a soft plush fabric, cut into a circle, and detailed like a tortilla.

“That’s perfect for you,” Tony grinned while his mate tried to stifle any noise of amusement that begged to escape.

“I like it,” she said, as if she needed to defend herself. “But why does everyone always get me weird things.”

It was the closest they had gotten, so far, to being a joke gift. Though, as James glanced back to look at the omega, she seemed happy to have received it and was already zipping it open to pull it out. The image in his head changed from the cartoon polar bear and elves to the tortilla and the alpha couldn't stop the smile that pulled  his lips up slightly.

Steve received work out stuff as well, and Scott opened the first, real, joke gift that was a toaster which specifically burned the image of Bob Ross into the piece of toast. He loved it all the same and looked over at his mate excitedly, saying that he couldn’t wait for breakfast the next day.

When it came time for James to open his own gift, he handed his drink to Steve and looked at the candy cane wrapping paper curiously. He barely talked to anyone so there was a good chance that whoever had gotten him would go with typical guy stuff. Maye a baseball cap or thick socks. As soon as he pulled off the lid of the box his nose was assaulted with the strong scent of rosemary and fresh basil, he nearly scrunched his face before looking over what was inside. Six spice containers of different mixes that had handmade labels on them, their contents listed in somewhat messy handwriting. There was also a dark blue knitted scarf and beanie.

“Thoughtful  or?” Maria questioned, not quite sure what to make of it.

“I like cooking, these are nice,” James assured with a nod.

“Oh, didn’t know that,” the other alpha replied.

“Looks like they’re homemade as well,” Steve commented, looking over his  friend's shoulder.

“Wow, how fancy,” Clint nodded trying to guess who was responsible.

James couldn’t help but agree and inspected them further as Tony handed Loki a gift next. The reason for such a strong scent came from one of the caps being loosely secured and a little bit of the seasoning had escaped into the rest of the box. There was the faint smell of citrus and ginger as well, making the security guard wonder what the rest of them contained. It was a thoughtful gift and made him wonder which of the Thanksgiving crowd had given it to him, since they were the only ones who knew that he liked to cook. At any other holiday party, the fact that it was all homemade, and even knitted, could have been a clue, but they all worked at a craft store and it could’ve been any of them. He’d forgotten to glance around while opening it to see if anyone was staring too much or throwing him a quizzical glance, but it was too late now.

After the gift giving came to a close there was a good forty-five minutes where everyone went back to talking with each other and inspecting their new gifts. It was likely that Sunny had gotten Thor as her secret Santa, since the man was proudly showing off a piece of wood burned art that had something to do with a beer he always drank. Although the omega wouldn’t give herself away and merely frowned at the accusations. 

Near a quarter past nine Clint began to gather his troops, who were starting to doze off on the couch after coming down from their sugar high. Most of them were going to see each other the very next day at work so the farewells were rather short and simple. Scott and Hope followed, explaining that it was time to pick up their own child. Others joined in a mass  exodus until there remained the group from Thanksgiving plus Loki, who was deep into a conversation with Natasha and Tony about something. Bruce had started to pack up the food and questioned if any of them would want some of the leftovers, because there were a lot.

The television switched from the video game it had been on all night to an animated Christmas movie and James looked over to see that Wanda and Sunny were settling into the couch. Pietro joined them after returning from where the security guard could only guess was the direction of the bathroom, as people had been appearing from there throughout the night. It’d been kind of loud with all the staff there, but with them gone it turned into more of a quiet, comfortable affair and the alpha was reminded of the last time he had been there.

This was the feeling that he had been missing without realizing it throughout the evening. It’d still been nice, talking to some of his coworkers he never would’ve before, but it felt off. They didn’t stay too much longer, and ended up leaving half way through the movie because Steve had an early shift the next day. Tony stopped them at the door before they could leave with a proposition.

“You guys are more than welcome to come over on New Year’s, we, meaning Sunny, Bruce, the twins, and I, usually wait for the ball to drop and just hang out. It’s a nice, quiet evening,” he added at the end.

“I already have plans, but Bucky doesn’t,” Steve spoke for his friend. The blond alpha had been invited to a party from one of his friends at the gym which he had extended to James, but a party with a bunch of strangers was not his idea of fun. The omega moved his attention to the other alpha with a questioning stare and he almost smiled in relief.

“I can come, sounds like a good time,” he grunted and Tony nodded.

“We’ll see then, have a good night, and Merry Christmas,” their boss said before the door closed behind them.

“I think Sam and I got each other for secret Santa,” Steve chuckled holding up his gift. “Well, technically you had him, but it might as well have been me.”

“Yeah, thanks for that by the way,” James muttered.

“Same, thanks for getting Danny’s, his reaction was sweet,” his friend smiled. “No idea who had you though.”

Christmas wasn’t as bad as James thought it was going to be, although it still felt a little empty with just the two of them in the apartment, they made the most of it. Steve had gotten a few things to make the place more festive and even bought him a gift while the metal armed veteran was in charge of the feast that they continued to eat in the days that followed. He’d used some of his new seasonings and wondered again about the identity of his gift giver. The hat and scarf fit him well and were made of a thick and warm yarn that blocked out most of the chill from his skin. Herbs from the box had been somewhat infused into its form and it smelled faintly of rosemary, lemon, and ginger, reminding him of the scent of a certain omega. But that wasn’t possible, because she had gotten Thor.

Customers in the store thinned drastically after the twenty-fifth and everyone seemed to heave a sigh of relief before going through aisles and giving them a deep clean. It was not uncommon for people to leave things on a shelf ten feet away from where they actually belonged, it drove them crazy and made a lot of unnecessary work.

They stocked a little bit of New Year's stuff like confetti poppers, cheap glasses that were shaped like the numbers of the year, colorful beads, small little disco balls, and noise makers. The busiest person in the store was Loki, who seemed more than happy to deal with everyone returning their unwanted gifts, or ones they had already broken. Even going as far as claiming it as his favorite time of the year because of all the people he got to turn down.

At one point during the week Bruce waved James over to tell him that he could show up anytime between eight or nine. They would stay up until midnight, watch the ball drop, and then almost immediately go to sleep or leave to go back to their respective houses, which sounded silly but James wasn’t complaining. He worried slightly about going to a work thing without Steve, but only because the man was a lot smoother when it came to talking to people and could do it in almost any situation. While James on the other hand, spent most of his time listening and would comment every once in a while, unless something really caught his interest.

Walking up to the grand house alone had him feeling a little anxious, and he was thankful for the fact that Jarvis let him in instead of an actual person that would immediately see his discomfort. Bruce had told him to not worry about bringing anything, as they had more than enough to go around, but he had still gone to get a bottle of wine and made some cheesy garlic, pull apart, bread. It would need about thirty minutes in the oven, but he hoped it would be a welcome snack for everyone while they hung out.

He imagined that they were going to be standing around again, much like they had at the Christmas party, but upon entering the kitchen and living room area he saw only the backs of heads. Tony turned around to greet him, a comforting smile on his face that his mate mirrored, and the only other person glanced back slightly, to reveal Sunny.

“Glad you could make it,” Bruce smiled.

“I brought some pull apart bread, if you want?” He offered, placing the bottle of wine on the island before bringing out the pan to show off what he’d prepared.

“Oh, that looks good,” Tony whistled.

“The twins got poached by Clint and his family this year, so it’s just us tonight,” the other alpha said softly, almost sounding like an apology. If he had been uncomfortable before the feeling James had after hearing that only heightened it, now it seemed like he was intruding on a family night.

“I can go if this is-,” he started but Tony cut him off.

“No, no, it’s fine. We’re with each other all the time,” the omega assured him.

A bright roaring fire warmed the room and James felt suddenly as if he was sitting next to it with the how much it reminded him of making them as a kid. He’d been very nostalgic the past month, especially with Christmas having just passed. It was strange because the scenery of a warm house and burning wood was familiar while the company of mates and their almost pup was not, making for a strange combination. 

“Here, let’s turn the oven on,” Bruce was the first to move, and bumped his mate a little as he stood. “There’s some beers in here,” he said opening the fridge. “Sunny, do you want your cider yet?”

“Is it cold now?” She asked, face looking at them quizzically.

Her hair, which had been somewhat nice and combed the last few times he’d seen her, was a mess and made it appear as if she had just literally rolled out of bed. It was cute to see and made his inner alpha hum in appreciation, the man really needed to get out more if this was all it took for him to feel something now. Bruce nodded next to the security guard and made a small noise of confirmation before the little omega responded.

“Then, yes, please,” she said before turning back towards the television.

“If you want one of these,” the older alpha showed him the bottle of hard cider. It was a pineapple flavored one with a five percentage of alcohol and boasted to have no added sugars besides what was already in the fruit. “Just take one, she only ever drinks about two before she’s buzzed and drowsy. She’s pretty small so,” he trailed off while glancing at the girl.

“Makes sense,” James shrugged.

“Yeah,” the other man chuckled. “Wish it was that easy for me.” 

He popped off the lids of two drinks and made sure to hand off the bottle opener to the security guard before walking back towards the couch. James hesitated for a moment, grabbing one of the beers and taking off the cap before he looked at the couch and wondered where he should sit down. Tony and Bruce were sitting in the corner, their shoulders almost overlapping with how close they were. Sunny was near them, though still a couple cushions away, sitting cross legged with one of the Christmas pillows in her lap that she was using as a place to rest her drink against as she held it lazily. 

Deciding to sit one space away from her, and further from the other two, James watched from the corner of his eye as the couch dipped slightly at his weight and made the little omega readjust her grip. Making the alpha worry about how she would be later on with the alcohol if she was already like this, would it be better if he was closer in case anything happened?

“We’re watching The Poseidon Adventure,” she said, turning to him suddenly.

“Interesting choice of movie,” he muttered taking a sip of his beer.

“Because,” Tony started. “They’re having a New Year’s Eve party and then it all goes to shit,” the older omega laughed. Bruce looked at him with a frown and James was reminded of how the man’s tongue got looser as he drank more and more, the smile he got in return almost had the veteran chuckling. “I’ve only had two glasses so far,” Tony scoffed as he went for another sip of his wine.

“Seen it before?” The security guard asked of them and they all nodded.

“We put it on so if we talk and miss something it won’t matter as much because we’ve already seen it,” the girl explained.

“Good plan,” he grunted.

“ Mhm ,” she chirped while going for a bit of her own drink.

James almost jumped at the noise while the other two merely looked at her with a smile. It was a sound omega’s made when they were happy or excited for something, but often only happened around family members or mates. It made his inner alpha purr in satisfaction at being so close to the girl, she was obviously comfortable enough around him to let the noise out and he was grateful for that, as it was something he hadn’t heard in a long time.

As things started to go pear shaped in the movie Bruce distracted them with questions about how his Christmas had gone if they’d gotten any gifts that they hated. It was a light hearted topic that dragged on to years past and things they’d received as kids that they probably shouldn’t have been given. What made it even better was the chaos that was happening in the movie as they chuckled and smiled about old family trips or disasters at their old jobs. James didn’t talk too much, and it was mostly Tony that filled in the silence as he got more and more intoxicated. Sunny had moved on to her second drink and the veteran could see at which point she started to feel it more by how much she laughed and started to sink into the couch.

“There goes our favorite character,” Bruce muttered as they glanced back at the movie for a moment. “Oh, breads done,” he said while getting up carefully. 

He had put it in around ten thirty, after they’d forgotten about it for a good hour and a half to instead complain about shopping during the holidays. Fortunately, anything to do with store customers or being around multitudes of people was an easy topic and one that none of them seemed to like all that much. Even better because James actually had stories to add.

“Just put it on the coffee table, I don’t want to get back up again,” Tony muttered.

“You’re not even the one getting up,” Sunny mumbled, pushing her face into the couch idly.

“Don’t fall asleep, we have more than an hour until midnight,” the older omega shot at her but she merely blew a raspberry in response.

“I’m not sleeping,” she murmured but continued to nuzzle regardless.

“Don’t let her fall asleep,” Tony pointed an accusatory finger at James.

“Calm down,” Bruce shushed him before reaching over brushing his fingers across Sunny’s neck. 

The action had the little omega squirming for a moment as she stretched with a small, content, groan that made James blush slightly in embarrassment. It was the same feeling he had at Thanksgiving, where he felt very much at home on the couch in the presence of these people who were very close to each other, but not so much to him. They’d invited him in without a second thought and, most likely without meaning to, welcomed him as much as they possibly could. 

Though James had to remind himself, once again, that Bruce and Tony were not Sunny’s actual parents, and there was a good chance they weren’t aware of what they should or shouldn’t do in the company of another alpha. The little omegas scent had burst out as soon as the older alphas fingers brushed her mating gland, the lemon and ginger almost too sweet as it filled the area with her relaxed pheromones.

“Sorry,” the older man apologized through James’ racing thoughts. “Didn’t know she would react like that,” he looked a little panicked. “I’ll go get a scent spray,” he rushed off into the house. At least one of them was sober enough to know what was appropriate and what wasn’t, he felt a little bad but relieved he wasn’t alone in his thoughts.

Tony righted himself into a better sitting position after his mate left and looked back towards the movie and then at the bread. He took a piece carefully, going for one on the edge that wouldn’t burn his fingers before getting up and moving to where Sunny was slowly opening her eyes back up. The older omega pushed the food into her hand until she was coherent enough to grab it and made sure her bottle was empty as he pulled it away and set it on the table.

He gave her instructions to eat it, to which she groaned and moved where she was no longer being eaten by the couch.

“Did you have a good Christmas?” James asked of her, trying to distract her but also curious about whether or not it had gone well. Tony shrugged behind her as he settled back down, waving one of his hands in the middle of his body as if to say that it was okay.

“They’re good at giving gifts,” she hummed. “But want to set me up with an alpha, and I said no thanks. They didn’t like that. I was gonna stay the night, but after that I left early, didn’t wanna hear about it in the morning.”

“I wouldn’t want to either,” he agreed with her. His inner alpha was begging to cuddle the girl, hold her close as she rambled about the old practice of parents setting up their omega children with possible mates. Soothe her with his own rumbling as she complained about her family and tell her that she wouldn’t be given away to someone she didn’t like.

“Here,” Bruce reappeared with a glass of wine and a scent neutralizing spray. “Drink this,” he handed it to Sunny while washing the area in a mist of nothing. Effectively erasing the cloying sweetness of unmated, happy, omega that was driving James’ inner alpha insane. As it faded, he began to calm slightly, no longer on edge and thinking about how perfectly the girl would fit in his lap. “She doesn’t like wine,” the older alpha whispered as he walked towards the kitchen.

One sip of the offending liquid had Sunny frowning deeply, jolted suddenly into a more awakened state as the movie began to enter its final stages. This time the security guard could not stop the laugh that escaped him at her dramatic reaction to drinking what was, according to her face, very disgusting. Tony and Bruce chuckled along with him as the alpha returned to take it from her as her face adopted one of betrayal.

“It’s the strongest one we have,” the man smirked.

It was enough to keep her awake for another hour as she tiredly munched on bread and was given cups of water to suck down. Every once in a while, making a couple comments as it pertained to the conversation or movie, although most of them did not make sense and had the rest of them looking at each other skeptically. Tony had also switched to drinking water and had moved to sit on the other side of his mate, right next to Sunny who had immediately leaned against him with a cheerful hum.

“This is why I don’t drink,” she mumbled around eleven forty-five. It was one of the few things she had said that made sense and meant she was starting to sober up.

“You don’t have to be awake for much longer at least,” James said and she nodded slowly.

The television had been switched over to watching the New York City countdown, and they had started commenting about how cold it looked with everyone bundled up so tightly. Since being fed poison, that was what Sunny called the dark red wine anyway, the girl had mostly been staring lazily at the fire, that they’d kept going the entire time. Each of them had taken a turn tossing a couple logs onto it in order to keep the flame going, though sitting next to it made them much too warm, the ambiance was what kept them feeding it.

At the start of the night, when the security guard had first walked in, he’d wondered how well it would go and how uncomfortable he might feel. But it had gone by quickly and easily, as if he had been coming to it for years and years and now, with ten minutes to go until midnight, he was kind of sad it was almost over. This little, sort of, family had slipped past his barricade and set up camp where he hadn’t expected it, and the thought of going back to Steve’s lonely apartment put an instant damper on his mood. It didn’t show up on his face but felt like a cold splash of water that shook him to his bones, reminding him of the difference between the two of them.

They didn’t say too much else, besides idly talking about any resolutions they had for the coming year. Sunny wanted to go back to a more normal sleeping schedule, after the holidays had messed it up, while the couple said something about going on more trips, or camping. James didn’t say it out loud but he’d like to find something to work towards, whether it was an end goal or something else he didn’t know yet. But hopefully it would be something exciting, something he’d want to keep doing or chasing, to make him feel like he wasn’t just wasting this second chance at life he’d been given.

Bruce and Tony started counting down, the older omega the most excited of any of them, while the girl next to him kept up but with a fraction of the enthusiasm. In the next ten minutes they would probably clean up fairly quickly, thank him for coming and bringing the bread and then wish him a good night. Jarvis would do the same and then the door would close, taking the warmth and orange tinted, content, world away from him to welcome the chilly one he’d grown used to. He wasn’t excited.

Whether or not Sunny seemed to notice she looked over at him with a soft expression on her face, he couldn’t tell what exactly she was looking at but returned the stare from the corner of his eye. When the countdown ended, the little family cheered for a moment before the mated couple quieted as they shared a kiss. The little omega looked away for a moment, casting her pseudo parents a smile before leaning more into the couch and bringing her eyes back to his form.

“I’m glad you came,” she said to James. Voice barely above a whisper while, at the same time, releasing a soft, thankful scent that seemed to bring a bit of warmth to his fingertips. “It was nice having you here.”

For a short moment, inner alpha and outwards alpha smushed into one as he looked at her and smiled, this time without trying to hide it or mask it with something else. She returned it and the beginnings of his own pheromones started to leak out before he got ahold of himself again and  answered her.

“I had a really good time,” he said softly, just to her before speaking again. “Thank you, again, for allowing me to stay and spend this time with you,” he directed towards the mated couple this time.

Just as Bruce had said before, everything wrapped up quickly after that and James was soon in his cold car again, making a lonely drive back to his shared apartment where he would go to sleep alone. Although it was different from how he’d thought it would be as he went over all the conversations they had shared and how a disaster movie about a sinking ship would now hold fond memories. He laughed at the realization and finally settled on his resolution as he got into bed nearing one in the morning.

That was what he would chase, that happiness and warmth. To find it with someone, to make a family, a place for himself, once more. That was what he wanted.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its gotten to the point where this story will no longer line up with our holidays, sad, I know.

January was a big breath of fresh air, both at work and in James’ personal life as he went into the new year with a bright and shiny resolution. Believing that part of getting used to being back in normal boring life and achieving happiness was dependent on finding his own sort of family, he made the mistake of asking Steve how he should go about looking for a relationship. And his best friend had been elated to suggest some people to him, including those they worked with whom the stocker was sure were currently single. Since the security guard had really no preference between male, female, or second genders there were a lot of candidates to consider, though he was quick to reject any coworkers. If, and probably when, it didn’t work out they would still see each other in the store and he didn’t want it to be awkward.

Though it had put the idea in his head that some of them might work out and made the metal armed veteran look at a few of them differently in the week that followed. The store quieted down immensely after the holidays passed and had painted half the store in reds and pinks in preparation for Valentine’s day. It was still at least a month away, but James had to remind himself that they had already had some Christmas decorations stocked in the first few days of November. Stark’s was a big enough place that they could always afford to have a good chunk of the aisles filled with whatever season or event was coming up next.

The cashiers already picked out their favorite selection of card boxes, the ones meant for elementary schools to hand out to each other, and had shown him their top picks. Scott was proud to show off some insect cards that had a bunch of horrible puns to perfectly match his own awful humor, while the younger guys gravitated towards video games. Although Danny had picked out some cartoon eyed cats that he said his cousins would love, his number one being a black cat sitting in a teacup. The easily excitable beta had been one of the people Steve had recommended he try for, but James couldn’t see himself pretending to listen to the kid any more than he did during work. Loki, when questioned about which  box he liked best, pointed at one that had only  insults and were mostly black. It made sense.

Following the  night he’d spent with Bruce and his, makeshift, family the alpha called him over to the frames department more often to talk about how the day was going or weekend plans. Their conversations never seemed to hold much important information, and rarely did he learn something deep about the older man, but it was nice all the same. Even Sunny joined in every once in a while, though she existed, for the most part, in the workshop as she usually did. He’d gone from staring down the lines in the front of the store and growling at wannabe shoplifters to lazily walking around and wishing for it to be busy again.

In the third week of January Sunny started her heat mid-shift and her scent all but exploded into the store, spreading from the framing department as if she was a wave crashing onto the shore. Customers had to be ushered out while the managers tried to figure out what could be done in the meantime until Tony or Annie, Sunny’s roommate, could be contacted to come pick her up. All the alphas moved to the linen department which was the complete opposite side of the building as they started to react to her beckoning scent.

It sunk into their very beings and pulled at the skin, ginger and lemon so sweet James could almost feel himself salivate as his inner alpha repeated a mantra inside his head.  _ Unclaimed, unmarked, ripe, sweet, mine, mine, mine, mine. Breed, mark, claim, mate, mate, mate. _ It was exhausting to force the feelings and urges down and essentially choke himself, in order to keep a somewhat straight face. Bruce was the only one of them allowed to be by her side, though the older man informed them over their radio that Loki, Scott, and Wanda were also present to make sure the little omega was doing okay.

Most omega’s took inhibitors or suppressants in order to keep their heats at bay and as controlled as possible, making them more manageable and predictable. It shortened the span of them, made pre-heats easier to identify, and kept the pain the a minimum, should the omega feel it anyway. Each person was different, for some people it was a wild fever that kept them bedridden and uncomfortable without a mate and for others it was a horrible pain that ached and felt as if they were getting torn up inside. Hopefully for Sunny it was the first option.

“She’s allergic to inhibitors,” Natasha supplied at Steve’s question. Apparently, the two roommates were thinking one in the same thing.

“Aren’t there different brands?” The blond alpha asked.

“Same medicine, different amounts, still allergic,” she supplied.

“Isn’t that rare?” Sam muttered; he’d joined the group of Alphas near the beginning as he wasn’t very close to Sunny nor many of the other betas. Peter, Ned, and Clint were also present and fiddling with some random fabrics as they tried to keep themselves occupied.

“After she presented her parents pumped her full of  anything they could get their hands on, to keep her normal,” the red-haired alpha explained. The group of them darkened at the new information, their collective pheromones turning bitter as the head manager continued. “She got really sick and now her body can’t handle any of that shit.”

“Oh,” Sam muttered. 

James’ opinion of Sunny’s parents had already been pretty abysmal, but with the new information his stance on them plummeted even further as he added more puzzle pieces into place. It further explained why they had elected to keep her out of omega classes and treated her as if she was a beta even after she presented otherwise. How did they not understand that her second gender was not something they could cover up and get rid of? How many years had she suffered because of them? 

The security guard’s inner alpha was grateful for the explanation as for why she couldn’t be given any medicine but James wondered why Natasha had even thought it was vital knowledge for them to have.

“Her heats are also pretty irregular,” she added. “So, if anything happens, do not inject her with an inhibitor, I repeat,” the alpha hissed. “Do not inject her, it’ll only cause her pain.” Her voice warned them and it made sense, none of them wished her any further harm.

It was another ten minutes before Tony arrived to take her back to his house for the remainder of her heat, apparently Annie had also shown up and James had his first glimpse at the beta as she rushed towards the framing department. She was tall with curly hair that was black at the roots and faded into a light lilac color as it went down to her shoulders with tanned golden-brown skin. She didn’t spare them a glance before she disappeared into an aisle and out of sight. She had been carrying a duffle bag that was more than likely filled with emergency heat supplies that most omegas kept stocked in case something like this happened.

When she was gone, they spent a good hour spraying the store with scent neutralizers before Bruce deemed it was safe for them to reopen without having to worry about stray alphas going on the hunt for someone who was no longer there. The rest of the day was pretty stunted as they went back to their respective positions, pretending that everything was as it had been not two hours before, but such was not the case. 

He once again thought of that girl in his arms all those nights ago, and how some people got dealt a pretty crappy hand in life, he’d thrown his own up there at one point after losing his arm. But at least his parents had always loved and accepted him, even encouraging him to do what he wanted, as they did with all of their kids. To be shunned and abused for something she couldn’t control made for a pretty awful introduction to the world and then to be almost kidnapped made it even worse. 

Bruce filled him in on a little more the following day as James mentioned what Natasha had told the group of them the day before. He nodded in understanding and didn’t question his alpha friend for revealing such information, the two of them must’ve gone way back or something.

“She’s kid number five of seven, everyone else in her family is a beta. They rarely took her to the doctor for checkups after she presented because it was expensive and they were busy enough between work and home. Her first heat occurred a year after she presented because of all the cheap drugs they made her take,” he said.

“A year?” James hissed. An omega’s first heat usually happened within a month or two after presenting and was meant to be a sign of healthiness. It wasn’t unusual for it to take as long as six months, but anything past that called for a doctor's visit in case certain pheromones were missing and could be prescribed. So long before a first heat meant something was really wrong.

“Said she was sick for a month.”

“That’s,” the security guard growled lowly.

“I know,” the older man muttered. “Heats are painful for her now, and she can’t take anything to help ease it. We try to make her sleep through most of it but,” he paused with a tsk. “Doesn’t really work.”

“What about heat aides?” He thought aloud. They were kind of expensive but carried an artificial alpha scent that worked as a substitute for omegas suffering through their heats alone, without a mate or courting gift to get them by.

“They help a little bit, but those fake ones only go so far,” Bruce explained. The security guard's knowledge of omegas was better than most alphas his age, but couldn’t compare to one who was mated to and taking care of another one. The framer spoke from firsthand experience and had probably tried everything he could in order to ease the girl’s pain. What she really needed was an alpha.

“Have you met her parents?” The younger man questioned.

“Once, they seemed pleasant,” he sighed. “But the meeting was very brief because I had to drag Tony away before he did anything.”

“I think I’d punch them in the face,” James stated without any hint of a smile. 

The little omega should’ve come from a family that, at the bare minimum, took her to the doctor for checkups, even some of the poorer households in his old neighborhood treated their omega’s better. Hell, there were programs they could have applied for that would’ve offered help to families that couldn’t afford the extra care an omega needed after presenting. And they hadn’t even done that! No one deserved that, yet the girl had come from all that and still pushed herself forward, which was admirable.

Everything about her looked the perfect definition of an omega anyone would be ecstatic to have as a child or a mate. Her personality, which was not exactly something everyone had a taste for, as she was shy and quiet but still spoke her mind and cut people off, could still be taken as cute. It was probably why so many alphas perked up immediately upon seeing her at the counter instead of the usual older man. She was tiny and would perfectly fit in anyone’s arms just as she had fit in his own all those nights ago.

“Yeah,” the other man chuckled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

He relayed the information to Steve as soon as he returned from his shift, they’d been getting scheduled on different shifts during the holidays, which worked out fine since James’ car had since been fixed. The metal armed man had thought about what Bruce said for most of the day and couldn’t help but feel bitter for the girl. He was itching to talk about it with someone he was close to other than the frames manager, which meant Steve, he was waiting to talk to his roommate about it. There was really no one else, besides a couple other veterans, that he ever wanted to talk to.

He spoke of it while making dinner and the blond alpha listened from the kitchen table, making idle comments here and there to keep his roommate satisfied that he was paying attention. James didn’t talk too much about other things and rarely came back from anywhere with an impatient look in his eyes. It was nice to see him care about something, even if it was a person he had no control over and little hope of actually helping if they did happen to find a solution. 

Keeping himself occupied with putting new laces into his running shoes Steve observed the other man as he bustled around the cutting board and stove. At this point, hearing about the new facts of Sunny, even he had to admit that the girl had drawn the short stick in life, and there was sure to be much more that had happened to her that she had never told anyone. It was unfortunate, and he did feel bad for the little omega, but at the same time couldn’t help but smile at something else. Though he made sure to hide it under his hand should the other alpha suddenly turn around and see a poorly timed grin on his face instead of a grimace.

After he’d asked Steve to possibly set him up with someone he knew, or about the best places to meet a potential dating partner, the blond had excitedly gone through everyone he knew and considered if they might be a good fit for the man. Though James had insisted he had no preference Steve was prepared to find the best person he could for his one and only childhood friend. There were a few recommendations from the store, but they had all been betas, a couple suggestions from the gym, yet upon asking the people it went awry. They’d seen the metal armed man before and knew a little of what he was like from their minimal, and very brief, conversations between machines and informed Steve he was not their type.

Which made sense now that the blond alpha was looking at him from a dateable perspective as the security guard almost never smiled and had adopted a stoic, somewhat pissed off, resting face. It was one of the reasons why he’d immediately thought of coworkers as they were used to his behavior at this point and knew he wasn’t actually angry. The man had a good reason for shooting down that idea, but with this new realization, well, it was worth a shot.

“She definitely needs an alpha,” the blond muttered. “To help with her heats and show her it’s okay to be an omega.”

“Yeah,” he grunted in agreement.

“Probably someone big, strong, and reliable, in case anything else happens to her.” The other man made another noise of affirmation, nodding slightly as he stirred his food around. “Perhaps a security guard?”

“That would be goo-,” James stopped mid-sentence and looked back at his friend suddenly. “Not me,” he growled.

“I saw how you reacted the other day when she went into heat,” Steve insisted. “After Natasha told us about her family.”

“We all reacted the same way,” he snapped.

“You were seething for the rest of the day.”

“Any decent alpha would be,” the brunette said, trying to clap back at his friend.

“At Thanksgiving,” the man started and James knew exactly where he was going. When she had fallen asleep and looked so content and warm and had purred, his inner alpha moaned lowly in satisfaction just from the noise.

“She deserves someone better,” he snarled and the man at the table frowned, teasing mood erased completely. 

Steve knew that the other man didn’t think much of himself anymore and had initially struggled to even pull himself out of bed at first. Life was unappealing after what he had been through for so long, this world was slow and had no use for the kind of person he’d turned out to be. The blond could see how it suffocated him at first, how he looked at his new arm with disgust and seemed to want to rip it away from his body.

“Bucky,” Steve sighed and his friend growled again.

“No.” He hissed. Though his inner alpha was already imagining them together and supplied many a picture of them sitting together on the couch, scenting her, kissing her, “she wouldn’t want me.”

“She’s been alone Buck,” the other veteran sighed. “And you’re right, she might not want you, but who knows.”

“Ugh, Steve,” he groaned. “I shouldn’t have asked for your help.”

“No,” his friend agreed. “But I’m glad you did. If she says no.”

“It’ll be awkward between us after that.”

“Yeah, especially because you guys talk to each other all the time,” Steve deadpanned. James frowned at his sarcasm, but was angrier at the fact that he was right, they barely spoke to each other. Most of what he heard about Sunny came from people who knew her, it’d probably sound a great deal different if it came from the source. “You could take her out for Valentine’s day,” he offered.

At the mention James recalled all the couples he had been noticing recently, holding hands in the grocery store, talking at the gym, kissing in the park, and ‘secretly’ scenting in the store. Just thinking about taking Sunny out to be immersed in such people made him feel sick as she would more than likely feel pressured to do something similar with him. He didn’t want that for the little omega at all.

“Nightmare,” was all he said in response.

“Then the week after, take her to a coffee shop or something, that’s a good first date.” The blond hummed but his friend was now letting out an annoyed and pissed off scent as he spoke the next words with firm resolve.

"Not Sunny.”

That conversation was the end of James talking to Steve about the little omega, as he didn’t want to hear anything else about possibly asking the girl out or considering her that way. But it didn’t stop him from doing it at work whenever he happened to see her at the frames counter or in the break room by chance. She’d never looked at him strangely for his arm or asked how he’d lost it, questions about his time in the army did not leave her lips and her behavior stayed constant between him and anyone else. She was shy, but didn’t let it take over her personality and was always giving things to people, making them art, buying them little toys and candy if she knew that they liked it.

Every cashier, even Loki, had a little animal figurine that she had given them because she thought it was a close representation to how they were. Danny had smiled so wide when showing his off proudly, Loki poorly covered a smile when they ousted him for keeping it as well. The twins loved her, that much was obvious. She was cute, like a doll, and would complement anyone she ended up with, just the thought of coming home from work to see her sleeping in his bed made him warm and deeply ashamed. There was no way she would want him.

Cursing Steve for putting the thought in his head the security guard did his best to move past it, though his mind continued to slip up as the days to Valentine’s dwindled. The workers were encouraged to wear as much red and pink clothing as they had in their drawers and closets, which for James meant nothing, he continued to sport his dark clothes and stare down growing checkout lines.

He had to stop himself from staring at Sunny when she came in for a shift two days before the romantic fest known as the fourteenth of February. She’d gotten a haircut, which he didn’t think was possible with how short her hair had already been, but now it was less shaggy and trimmed neatly around her ears. There was a bit of length on her bangs that hung curly, and still messy looking, above her green doe eyes. It was very different from the other mess he had gotten used to over the months, and made him feel like he was seeing her for the first time all over again, as if they’d gone back in time to  Halloween .

This time her costume consisted of an oversized red knit sweater with small pink cartoon hearts all over it, black leggings, and white shoes, maybe converse or something, James wasn’t sure. Loki greeted her as she walked in and the girl smiled with a wave, showing them that her hands were completely covered by the sleeves. The beta said something about it to her and she pouted for a second before pushing them back to reveal her fingers. Their conversation was short and she was soon off towards the back of the store, fabric falling back down as she moved. James’ inner alpha did not fail to supply him with a handful of other images that could not be forgotten once they flashed by. Sunny in his jacket, wearing one of his sweaters, and in nothing but one of his t-shirts, he had to take a few laps around the store to get rid of that thought.

“Damn you,” the security guard said to his friend that night. Steve looked at him skeptically, eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he waited for his friend to continue. “For putting her in my head.” It took him a few moments to catch on but when he did a smirk pulled at his lips.

“She did look really cute today, didn’t she?” The blond chuckled and gained a growl from his roommate.

“Bastard,” he hissed and Steve tsked.

“Such foul language.”

The next day was a pale pink overall dress with a white turtleneck underneath that hugged her like a second skin and the same white shoes from the day before. Wanda had also dressed up in a red turtleneck, high waisted blue jeans, and black boots that hugged her shins, which was quite the contrast to her pale colored friend. The framing department had been somewhat busy with people getting gifts for their mates or romantic partner, so Sunny had no time to wander around, like she did at times when it was slow.

On Valentine’s day the schedule was somewhat strange, as they had a full crew of people working until six in the evening rolled around and more than half of the store left. Going off of previous years the building would be almost completely empty of customers as soon as people started getting off work and taking their loved ones out to eat or whatever. Even Steve had landed himself a date and was one of the handful getting off to pick them up, which would leave a small skeleton crew to carry on without them, he could count them on one hand. 

Those that remained included Ned, Sam, Maria, Pietro, Sunny, and himself, they had been told that if the store was void of customers for more than a half hour they were allowed to close early. Ned instructed James to stare down anyone who decided to show up, and unfortunately, at least one person came in every ten minutes or so. Mostly older people, who smiled at them kindly and sucked all the hatred from their bodies like a chilled breeze.

Around seven thirty, with only thirty minutes left until they would close the doors, Sunny was sitting at the framing department counter for the first time since James had started working there. Her section was completely deserted and Bruce said they finished all their orders the day before and had little to do but fix old, returned, frames. He’d missed seeing her that morning and took in her appearance as he walked by, though he could only see the upper portion of her outfit as the rest remained blocked. Another loose sweater in a deep maroon with white hearts at the elbows, her apron covered the front, but there was a peek at her exposed shoulder that made him sigh deeply. There was also a bow headband in her hair, one that he’d seen Natasha walking around with earlier.

She didn’t see him walk by and instead stared off into the space in front of her, expression distant and somewhat forlorn looking. He felt his chest tighten at the sight, inner alpha wanting to reach out and wipe it off her face, or at least divert her attention somewhere else which he hoped would happen once her eyes moved to his approaching form. The despondent mask didn’t change much, instead shifting into one of bored indifference that fell short of her eyes.

“Any plans after work?” He questioned, stopping just shy of the counter to look at her. It was the first time he had seen her look so dejected and  it kind of hurt, dependable sunshine all but gone from the store.

“Probably,” she started with a soft sigh. “Watch a television show and fall asleep on the couch,” she murmured, sounding tired. “You?”

“Make food, sleep,” he said, and she nodded slowly. “Which show?”

“Survivor, maybe,” she said. “There’s an omega in season twenty and she’s really good,” she mumbled, looking up at him cautiously. 

Immediately, without meaning to, James slotted himself on the couch next to her, he hadn’t really expected her to watch something like that, but also didn’t know too much about her either. The thought of sitting next to her, as she laughed, pouted, and fell asleep made him ache with longing, even though the show was silly, possibly somewhat staged, it would be amazing with a warm body next to his.

She shrugged after finishing, finishing off the conversation enough to the point where he was on his way around the store, leaving her to go back to staring at the floor. It wasn’t just her; Ned and Pietro had the same air about them as they gazed around at all the Valentine decorations, flowers, and candies that had not been sold and would either go on sale the next day or be saved for the following year. Maria and Sam didn’t seem to mind, or were just too stubborn to let anything show on their faces, he wasn’t sure. 

James caught the beta mid-yawn as he idly stared at the screens, leaning against the doorframe to the office as the other guy tried to stifle any noise that might’ve escaped. He offered the security guard a lopsided smile, completely disregarding the monitors that he would normally flick his eyes towards every few moments.

“How long since the last customer?” The alpha questioned.

“Ten minutes ago,” Pietro sighed. “We’ll be closing at the usual time.”

“I just came from frames,” he started, feeling as though he had to explain himself. Before he could say anything more the younger guy jumped to fill in.

“She’s been kind of down lately, hasn’t she?” He nodded with a frown on his face. Which was news to James, not that he had much to go off of with the few and far between encounters he shared with the little omega.

“Looked a little solemn back there,” the alpha agreed. Not wanting to show that he had no idea what was happening in case the beta offered up any more information that would explain what was wrong. Apparently, after spending Thanksgiving, the holiday party, and countless days at work with the twins, and Pietro specifically, he was accepted enough to be trusted  with what was about to be said.

“Wanda said that Annie, Sunny’s roommate,” he paused for a moment to assess the other man. “You haven’t met her yet, I don’t think. Anyway, Annie pushed Sunny to send a courting gift to the person she likes, which is shocking, I know. Shy little thing as she is,” his eyebrows rose as he recalled certain parts. “And they ignored it, so-,”

“What?” James couldn’t help the growl that escaped him. 

It definitely made sense why she looked so forlorn and made him regret not thinking of a way to bring up her mood in the short time they had spoken together. Anyone would be lucky to have an omega like her because of the childhood she had had the girl would likely melt or preen at any touch she received, boosting the confidence of her partner tenfold. Who in the world had ignored that?

“Right?” Pietro groaned. “She’s been putting on a brave face but, seeing all the couples and such,” he waved at the computer screens. Where the guy was sure to have seen multiple people kissing and hugging on each other without meaning to in the slightest. “It’d make anyone sad.”

“Do you know who it was?” His inner alpha burned with hate and he felt a sudden, almost inescapable, urge to go back and comfort her.

“Wouldn’t say,” he said looking idly back at his station.

“Hey,” Maria stepped into the room, her powerful alpha scent cutting off their conversation. She was a curt woman, all commands and logic with very little room for jokes, but James liked that about her as it reminded him of being in the army. “Last customer left; we’re closing early.” She stated, catching them off guard.

“Woo, fifteen minutes early ,” the beta cheered softly.

“I already sent Sunny and Sam home; they don’t have anything to close out. Ned’s bringing his drawer and then we can go,” she said and James nodded along with the beta behind him.

“Any plans for the rest of your night, Maria?” Pietro asked of the woman, stretching slightly.

“Wine with my husband,” she smiled.

Maria was supposedly mated with another alpha, although there were only three people in the entire store who had ever seen him, and all talk about him or her personal life was non-existent. Everyone knew she avoided the topic and had long since gotten past asking her anything that had to do with her time outside of the store.

By the time they got to the parking lot, which wasn’t much later, Sunny’s car was gone but the urge to call her, comfort her, and reassure her did not disappear. Steve would be happy to know that he had decided, within the last ten minutes, to invite the little omega to go to a coffee shop or something, the next time they had work together. He wanted to tell her that whoever it was that turned her down, wasn’t worth the breath it took to speak their name.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this was a little rough, because I wanted to get it right. Did some brainstorming with my sister and this is what we came up with, hope you like it.

Steve wasn’t a man who gloated often, but after being informed that James was, in fact, going to ask Sunny to coffee he smirked a little too long for the brown-haired alpha’s comfort. His Valentine date had gone well and he’d gotten home late to ask how the rest of the shift had gone, not meaning to brag in any way about his own night. The security guard mentioned how the little omega had been quite dejected and unlike herself and the reason why, before adding on that he felt the need to lift her mood immediately.

Now that he’d had more time to mull over his decision, James’ mind was going to other things that his inner alpha supplied, mostly what he’d seen from movies. Some were actions he’d done in the past with some of his short relationships before going into the army. There was an image of Sunny cuddling with him on the couch, watching movies with her sitting between his legs, and scenting her when they hugged. The other alpha was happy for him, neither of them thinking that the girl from frames would say anything but yes.

“I’m kind of busy this weekend,” she said, looking away from him. “Is there another day we both have off?”

He hadn’t seen Sunny again until three days later on Thursday, though she had been there the days prior there hadn’t been a time for him to get back to her section. His inner alpha pushed him to go and butt himself in, but James squashed the urge down until he finally caught her leaving the store between aisles. Her mood had improved somewhat, according to Pietro anyway, but now that she was in front of him it seemed to fall again, eyes not reaching his face.

“I Have next Tuesday and Wednesday morning off, maybe one of those?” He suggested and she finally glanced at him, a slightly confused look on her face that she  quickly masked behind a  hesitant smile.

“Wednesday maybe,” she said while readjusting her jacket. There was an air of uncertainty about her that leaked into her scent and he felt a little bad about springing the request upon her so suddenly.

“We can decide the location later,” he added. Knowing for a fact that he would ask Steve about which places were best for talking and had a lot of indoor seating. He didn’t want to make her sit outside on an icy morning and watch her shiver.

“Okay,” she nodded before turning to continue out the store. “Goodnight James.”

“Goodnight.”

She hadn’t seemed very excited, but it could be that she was still thinking about the other person she had given a courting gift to, the one that had ignored her. There could have been a part of her that was still hoping for them to respond, he’d have to go slow with her, though he wasn’t planning on rushing her regardless. From what he knew of the girl, and where she came from, Sunny was an omega that was not used to being treated like one. She’d probably never been scented by her parents or cuddled after a rough heat, the only person who’d shown any promise in her family, from what he knew, was her sister-in-law.

His friend agreed with him, that she was probably just taking it slow after getting rejected like that, he really didn’t know her well enough to judge whether or not she was acting all that differently towards him. How could he really gauge if there was a change after his invite when he barely saw the girl as it was? They’d have to exchange numbers or something, to really get the ball rolling.

On Friday he didn’t see her either, not when she arrived, nor when she left and his inner alpha was starting to get a little anxious, though he ignored that as well. It wasn’t uncommon to not see her at all during the week when she was working on some big order, or if it was really busy in the front and he didn’t have as much time to walk around the store. A good deterrent presented itself in the form of Pietro inviting them to go to a brewery the next evening, as his sister had plans for their place and was, essentially, kicking him out.

A few other people agreed to come as well, since the invitation was given to most of the other guys in the store, some of them were working and couldn’t go, or would arrive late. James wasn’t too excited, but it’d been a while since he’d gone out drinking with anyone but Steve and would give him a chance to get to know Sam, Thor, or Clint more. Thankfully he knew the tech kid well enough to keep a decent conversation going between them if that was how the time ended up going.

The first place Pietro picked out was packed and he instead led them in the direction of what he described as a marketplace, which was confusing until they got there. It reminded James of an eatery at an indoor mall, with a bunch of different restaurants in a large building, some of them with pastries, there was a meat market, a coffeeshop, a cocktail bar with fancy overpriced drinks, and a brewery. All of the tables inside the building were taken but there was an area out the back with tables and even firepits that were available. The night was on the cooler side but the tables off to the side also had patio heaters lit and blazing for anyone who needed them.

Thor had beaten them all there and informed them that he had ordered some fries for the table from one of the places inside. He’d even taken one of the heaters from an empty table and dragged it over to theirs so they wouldn’t lack for warmth as the night went on. The thundering man greeted Steve and James with a smile, his scent a little overpowering before he reeled it in a bit as the rest of their group arrived.

After ordering their drinks there was a bit of idle chatter as everyone came down from either being at work or a day of running around doing errands, as a couple of them had mentioned. The security guard had only been in for half the day before getting some shopping done on the way home, going to the gym, and then waiting for the evening to roll around. He’d made dinner before going in case the place they went to didn’t have food, or if the food offered was something he didn’t care for.

When Thor returned with two baskets of  fries, they broke off slightly, Clint and the stocking manager talking about their mates and how his kids were starting to become a handful. While Sam and Steve went into running trails and things that James did not care for, which left him and Pietro to chat about his recent sightings from security camera’s. With how many stories the kid had the alpha wondered if he kept a record of all the strangeness somewhere, though he denied it. Steve did try to include him into his topics at first but with how the other stocker stared him down he could tell it was unwanted.

“Who, who keeps texting me?” Pietro finally growled after the phone in his pocket buzzed for the fifth time in twenty seconds. “Ah, the sister,” he muttered, unlocking his phone. “Apparently, she has a question for the alphas in our group,” he said loudly, trying to get everyone’s attention.

“About what?” Clint muttered, taking a swig of his drink.

“Relationship  stuff ,” the kid replied. Sam and Clint nodded, both of them being betas and probably not very helpful for whatever would be thrown their way next. 

“Okay,” Steve said.

“When an omega gives a courting gift to an alpha, what is the appropriate response?” He said, reading directly from what he’d been texted. “You give them something back, right?”

“They usually either reply to it verbally, or the old-fashioned ones will give them something back for their next heat,” Thor replied while chewing some fries. “I did both,” he added. The twin typed away as the loud man spoke, sending it back to his sister. “Although, I approached her first, then she gave me something, and then I did this,” he rattled on.

“Wanda’s hanging out with some friends tonight, I guess one of them has some questions and there’s no alpha there, so,” he glanced up to look at the rest of them. “She’s asking us instead. She's typing back,” he said.

Most of them were taking the break in conversation to sip their drinks and eat some of the food in front of them. Though Clint was now looking back into the lit-up building, debating whether or not he should go inside and get something more substantial to eat than greasy potato sticks with cheese and ketchup on top of them.

“What kind of courting gifts should an alpha expect from an omega?” The youngest of them went on.

James immediately thought of the ones that had been advertised online and in clothing stores for Valentine’s day. The easiest to exchange were clothing items like oversized t-shirts that both of them would be able to fit into, scarves were another, hoodies, sweaters, blankets, pillows, sometimes hats, and there were even racier things like underwear.

“Clothing,” James muttered and Steve nodded in agreement. 

“With their scent on it,” Thor supplied. “Knowing that they slept in it or rubbed it against their mating gland is important. Jane gave me her pillow,” he beamed. A few of them looked down the table at him with a bland expression before looking back at the kid typing away.

The boisterous stocker had always been really good at shoving his happiness in their faces, boasting without meaning to because all he really wanted was to share the cheer. But how was that supposed to happen when most of them went home to empty apartments or to messy roommates? He didn’t mean anything by it, so they let it pass.

“So, I think I know who this is about,” he muttered before continuing. “If the omega doesn’t get anything in return for their heat, it’s like a rejection?”

“They should return the gift,” Steve replied. “Otherwise, the omega will assume that it’s been accepted and be waiting for something in return, but get nothing. Which is pretty cruel.”

“Yeah, any alpha that does that isn’t worth it,” Thor growled lowly.

“Another question,” Pietro went on. “Can the courting gift be homemade? Wait,” he texted something back and then spoke again. “Like sewn or knitted, I guess.”

“Oh, that’s even better,” the stocking manager said after draining his glass. “I would’ve loved that, but Jane isn’t very crafty. I’ll be right back,” he lifted up his glass before moving in the direction of the bar.

“I’ll wait until he gets back to ask the next one,” the kid huffed, reaching for some fries from the dwindling basket. Sam pushed them towards him with a smile, apparently the only person he didn’t like was James, for whatever reason.

“You know who this is about?” Clint questioned from the other end of the table.

“I think so,” he sighed, taking a few gulps of his own drink.

“Care to share,” Sam pushed for more information. He looked thoughtful for a moment, similar to how he stared at a monitor when it started glitching, and then a sigh escaped his lips as he swirled the remainder of liquid around his glass.

“Someone we work with,” he finally said. Not naming anyone, but it was easy enough to figure out based on the questions and simple deduction.

“Three omegas at the store,” Clint started, looking at Sam quizzically.

“Two of them mated and married,” the other beta responded.

“Sunny,” they said in unison as Steve chuckled softly.

“Who rejected Sunny? Do I have to stab an alpha?” Clint deadpanned.

“Don’t know, she wouldn’t say,” Pietro sighed.

“Poor thing,” the beta manager hissed. 

James felt the same way, but didn’t mention that he had asked her to coffee as it didn’t really concern them, he liked keeping things more to himself than broadcasting it for everyone to know. Even hearing all this about Sunny was making him feel a little uncomfortable, because if it was  him, he wouldn’t want a bunch of other people discussing his romantic attempts. Yet, here they were.

“The boss would’ve killed them by now anyway,” Steve added and the rest of them nodded in agreement. They joked about what Tony might’ve done to said alpha if their identity was known until Thor returned with some nachos and a new drink, sitting down slowly as they filled him in on what he missed. He growled about how they should create a mob to hunt the alpha down, accidentally crushing the chips he’d been holding in anger.

“This might be the last question,” Pietro muttered. “What does it mean if the same alpha who ignored her is now asking her to go out with him?” He finished with a frown and the rest of them groaned and grumbled in response. “Could it be that they’re petty about an omega showing interest first?” The twin shrugged.

“Sounds like he’s messing with her,” Clint hissed.

“Why would you do that to an omega?” Sam shook his head.

“Tell her to turn him down,” Thor grunted. “Tell her no.”

The group of them continued to growl about the mystery alpha, each of them taking turns to badmouth him while James remained mostly quiet, suddenly feeling a sense of dread. Something about everything that Pietro said had dropped a weight in his stomach and little things started to fall into place as he sat there anxiously. If he was right, then he had to go fix things right away, this time his inner alpha would not be pushed back.

“I’ll be right back,” he lied, getting up to leave. 

His drink was barely half gone, and he said nothing else as he walked away from them, going straight through the building and towards his car. Steve texted him to ask if he was okay and he stared at his phone for a few minutes before responding that he needed a favor. One he would explain later, which he knew his roommate would demand as soon as he asked for an address. A couple more exchanges and he was on his way across town, to where the Twins shared a two-bedroom duplex, and Wanda was hanging out with friends, one of them, supposedly, being Sunny.

What had slotted everything into place was the last question Pietro had asked of them all, because he had been the one to ask her to coffee and, as far as he knew, there was no other alpha the omega talked to. Not that he really knew for certain, she was shy, but she could likely have another asking after her, or trying to get to know her. Yet, if he was right, then he’d left her waiting too long as it was.

According to what the tech beta had told him the other night and what he had just heard over drinks there were things that connected that he hadn’t even considered before. Sunny had given someone a courting gift, which she made herself, and had been anxiously waiting for a response that did not come when her heat arrived. After that she was gloomy and quiet, more so than usual, to him, and probably others as well, although it was understandable given the circumstances. 

Yet, the same week that he asked her to coffee had sprung forth this conversation, this list of questions she’d likely been thinking about all by herself, wondering if she had done something wrong. She’d technically never given him a yes to the outing, because she wasn’t sure if she would be available, but more likely, she wasn’t sure what he was playing at.

If he was the alpha in question, that would mean she had gotten him as secret Santa and knitted the hat and scarf that had gotten doused in basil and dulled her scent. A courting gift. One that he’d unknowingly ignored. From the girl he’d asked out. After accidentally rejecting her.

Fuck.

There was still a chance that it wasn’t him, and perhaps it was a coincidence that these things lined up, but his inner alpha urged him to make sure and for once he didn’t argue. The thought of her watching him open her gift and seeing little to no reaction after she’d more than likely agonized over it, made him ache. What had she been thinking while waiting for a response from him? What about after?

Thinking about her feeling unwanted and dejected because of him made the alpha growl and grip the steering wheel tightly. For whatever reason she’d wanted his scent to go through her heat with, his! He would’ve given it to her, had he known. Probably skeptically, questioning whether or not she liked him like that or not, but he would’ve at least responded.

The duplex was quaint and tucked into a nice neighborhood. He’d passed a small park on the way with an almost sad looking playground illuminated by dim orange streetlights. Though he didn’t spare it more than a glance as he continued down the street, stopping on the other side of the road next to a trash can that had been knocked over. The driveway was full, he recognized Sunny’s beat up old car immediately, though a couple other vehicles were unknown to him he ignored them to walk up to the door. 

A window next to the front had the curtains pulled but were glowing a faint blue all around the edges, and he could still hear a soft chatter from behind the, probably, thin wood of the door. They were definitely going to look at him strangely, half of them wondering why the heck someone from work was interrupting their night, the other half questioning who the hell he even was. But he didn’t care about that, there was only one person in the house he wanted at the moment, and he wouldn’t leave without talking to her.

Ignoring the button near the doorknob James knocked in the middle four times, rapping his knuckles loudly in hopes that they would be able to hear him over their talking and whatever else was going on. Someone laughed as they were walking towards him, the sound muffled slightly until a very confused looking Wanda was stood in front of him. She was wearing comfortable looking clothes that consisted of some black lounge pants that cinched at the ankle, white slippers, and a red sweater. The outfit didn’t appear to be very thick as she shivered from the rush of cold that seeped inside as soon as she opened the door.

“James?” She asked skeptically. “ Whe -why are you here?”

“I need to talk to Sunny,” he stated. Her look of confusion fell away for a moment before she crossed her arms and regarded him curiously.

“You couldn’t have waited until tomorrow?” She questioned and he merely shook his head. 

“Please,” he grunted. This was awkward for both of them.

“Maybe,” she muttered in return before slowly closing the door in his face. There was still some chatter on the other side as her footsteps led away and he waited in the cold once more. A minute or so later and it was pulled open once more to reveal a wary Sunny who hid  halfway behind the door to look at  him.

She looked as comfortable as her friend, with grey sweatpants, soft looking black boots that could also be slippers, and a large green hoodie with a cartoon frog printed on the front. It was cute and he realized that he was probably seeing something he shouldn’t right now, as this was likely her sleepwear, but he would think about it later.

“Hi,” she mumbled and he felt guilty all over again. The omega wasn’t frowning, but the quiet indifference that she usually exuded was still stuck on the slightly dejected one she’d shown him earlier that week. The chatter behind her had died down and he had a feeling the other occupants in the house were close by, listening in on what was  being said.

“Can we talk out here?” He motioned towards the dimly lit street behind him.

“Uhm,” she made a soft sound while glancing back inside. If she wanted to talk in the doorway that was fine too, in fact it would probably be more comfortable for her, he’d scold himself later for many things he was certain. “Sure.”

The light disappeared as he took a few steps back and let her leave the house, hugging her hoodie closer to her body at the sudden chill that greeted her. They didn’t move much further than the front porch which was small and contained only a couple plastic chairs that were a little worse for wear. A low railing lined the edges and James stopped near the other side of it, leaving a bit of a gap between the two of them so she wouldn’t feel crowded. It was quiet until he spoke.

“I was your secret Santa, wasn’t I?” He questioned. Finally, she looked him in the face and nodded, her gaze unwavering as his insides twisted uncomfortably.

“But it’s okay, I should’ve-,” she looked away from him at the start and he cut her off. Not to be mean but to stop her from blaming herself for anything that wasn’t. 

“A lid came off of the spices, I couldn’t,” he hesitated as he eyes jerked back to him suddenly. “I didn’t know it was from you,” he said softly and watched as her face scrunched up in worry.

“Oh,” she whispered, looking like she wanted to hide. “I thought,” she faltered and he wanted to reach out and hold her. A hot flush of embarrassment burned across her cheeks and her scent was suddenly tinted with shame.

“No,” he grunted, still not good at knowing how to comfort. 

He wanted to tell her not to blame herself, but more than anything he just wanted to grab her, which wouldn’t really be appropriate at the moment. He was angrier at himself more than anything, the feeling only escalating more when he took a step towards her and she turned away from him slightly.

“What does this mean then?” She questioned, still not looking at him.

There was a bit of silence that hung in the air as he slowly removed his jacket, which was one of two that he owned, careful not to make too much noise as he moved towards her once more. She stiffened at his approach but did nothing else to get away or reject him in so he continued, hoping that she would accept it.

“I’m sorry that I missed your heat,” he apologized, stopping behind her. 

Carefully, slowly, he put the jacket over her shoulders, admiring the way it swallowed her form almost immediately, covering up the soft green of her hoodie with a worn black covered in his scent. At the same time that he released a soothing wave of pheromones that slipped over her shoulders just as his jacket was. He looked down at her head, wondering what face she could possibly be making as her fingers fidgeted with the zipper for a moment while his scent wrapped around her.

“This is my answer,” he said, hands resting on her shoulders tentatively.

Below him her neck was bare and tilted towards him the tiniest bit, making his inner alpha growl and purr at the same time, covered only by his jacket which had dwarfed her. He’d never thought of it before, but her hair being so short perfectly exposed the pale, unmarked, skin of her neck temptingly. Her fresh scent wafted up to him out from under his own pheromones and he had to stop himself from breathing in deeply to get it all, instantly reminded on how quickly it had filled the store during her heat. He had half the mind to ask her to cover it while at the same time wanting to look at it more and she hadn’t even responded to him yet.

“I don’t know how courting works,” she confessed. Her body relaxed and she leaned back into him the smallest bit, but it was enough to set him ablaze, combining himself and his inner beast once more as he resisted squeezing her shoulders.

“That’s okay, I’ll help you, we’ll take it slow,” he removed his hands and she pulled his jacket tighter around herself. It was a small action that she might’ve been hoping he wouldn’t notice but he did, and couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his lips.

“Can we text each other?” She asked, still not looking but at that point he just thought it was cute. Fishing his phone out of his pants pocket he held it out for her.

“Put your number in,” he grunted. Her small hand reached to grab it from him, turning it on to reveal no password before she went to contacts and started creating a new addition for herself. When she handed it back to  him he quickly typed out a short, barely text, that read,  _ hi _ . “I’m not good at texting,” he warned her.

“That’s okay,” she laughed softly and finally turned to look at him. The forlorn atmosphere that had been around her the past week had mostly disappeared and the girl in front of him was back to the one he’d come to like. “Aren’t you cold?” He shook his head at her question and she looked worried for a moment before moving to take off the jacket.

“No,” he grunted, suddenly stern. “That’s yours now.” He stepped away from her in the next moment and she turned to watch him with an uncertain look on her face

“But,” he offered her a gruff smile. 

“And I’m leaving, sorry for interrupting your night,” he said, already making his way down the steps. They weren’t at the point where a hug or light scenting could be shared as a goodbye, something that they could discuss over coffee the next week. Though his inner alpha was willing him to turn around and at least touch her,  he opted instead for a wave.

“James,” her voice halted his retreat. He looked back at her to see that she had put her arms through the sleeves of his jacket, though they were too long and hid her hands. She looked nervous, but the expression split into a smile when they caught eyes. “Thanks for coming.”

“Goodnight Sunny,” he tipped his head towards her. Noticing for a second how his breath smoked out into the dim glow of a light on the front porch before she returned the farewell and he was on his way once again.

He was chilled by the time he got into his car and closed the door, but he didn’t care. Little moments from their interaction stuck in his head as he began to drive home. The way she had leaned back against him, her subtle scent that tickled his nose, small hands that had reached for his phone, and the soft laugh as the uneasiness finally fell away. Yet he had been the one to assure her that they were going to take it slow, when he already wanted to hold her close.

They’d talk about it, he had to remind himself. The whole exchange had only taken about ten minutes between getting there and leaving, even though it’d felt much longer when he was standing right behind her. If he wanted to, which he didn’t, he could probably make it back to the brewery and spend a little bit of time with his coworkers. Steve had said he could get a ride home from Sam, which meant he really had no reason to go back, home was much nicer and vacant of people.

Somehow, he’d missed his phone buzzing and only noticed the new message once he pulled it out of his pocket to put in his room. Sunny had responded to his simple text with a short comment that made him smile without meaning to.  _ I’m not good at texting either. _


	9. Chapter 9

He thought about her a lot that weekend. Her scent and how she had pulled his jacket closer to herself when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. The exposed skin of her neck and the feeling of her back against his chest as she had leaned back into him. The way she fit perfectly against his chest all those nights ago when they first met and how she would feel in his arms in the future. For once, his inner alpha was content with his actions and merely hummed its appreciation at all the wondering thoughts that filtered through.

Steve was happy for him and asked how it went, though James kept the details vague, not wanting to give up how Sunny had burned with embarrassment once the truth was revealed. Or how she, adorably, turned away to hide her shame from him. That information would likely never be repeated for anyone no matter how they poked and prodded him for context, his inner alpha too stubborn to relinquish the sight from  its hold.

They didn’t text too much over the weekend, proving the truth behind both of their statements that night. There were tentative good morning and good night texts from both of them before they crossed paths at work on Monday, though the omega didn’t notice him at first. It was a cold miserable day that they watched unfold from the windows that lined the front of the store. What had started as a cold, dreary morning, changed to a turbulent icy wind that whipped at anyone brave enough to venture out for the day. 

She was bundled up as much as possible, a giant green scarf, grey hat, big boots, probably a couple sweaters under a big jacket, and warm looking leggings. Though a third of her face was covered by a multitude of fabric her uncovered cheeks and nose were tainted red from the cold, making the alpha want to warm them with his hands. Her scent rose around him when she finally looked up and noticed him there, eyes glancing at his face before looking away towards the many types of yarn and string in the aisle around them. A single sniff of the air told James of her slight embarrassment as he realized her usual ginger and citrus pheromones were elevated by something familiar.

It was him. 

More than likely left over from his jacket, a faint trace of his own scent was stuck to her skin and had mixed in slightly with her own. The thought of her at home, or walking around outside in his jacket made James burn for a moment, inner alpha purring in delight at the image in his mind of the little omega so wrapped in his scent.

He had to hold himself back from embracing her right then and there, instead settling for a small nod and muttered greeting that she returned, still looking away from him.

“I work tomorrow morning,” she said, finally looking at him. “But on Wednesday, can we still go for coffee?” Scent suddenly laced with uncertainty as she stood  statically in front of him.

“Yes,” he grunted and she smiled. “I don’t go out for coffee; do you know of any good places?” He admitted and watched as Sunny began to shed some of her winter layers. Slowly revealing the creamy white skin of her neck that he couldn’t help to stare at for a few moments until she replied.

“Annie really likes going to coffee shops and cafés, I’ll ask her,” she said. “I’ll text you the name later so you can look it up.”

“Thank you,” he nodded at her.

Then she was off towards the framing department with a little goodbye as she took off her jacket while walking away. He stayed still for a moment despite her absence and scented the air once more, growling softly at the remnants of her scent mingled with his own. If only the hat and scarf hadn’t been ruined by the spices, he would’ve buried his nose in the kitted clothing and breathed in deeply. There wouldn’t have been such a big misunderstanding and he could’ve smelled the amazing decadence of their mixed pheromones much sooner.

Shaking his head at such thoughts James was on his way back to the front of the store where Danny and Loki were likely still staring out the windows at trees whipped this way and that as the wind raged. There were few customers in the store from such weather, which meant Sunny would likely start wandering if she had no orders to finish.

The tall beta was stocking the impulse sections of each cash register with a bored look on his face when the security guard returned. Danny hid his phone at the approaching footsteps only to bring it back out when he saw that it was James. He’d gotten into a new game recently, one that the alpha had already forgotten the name to, but he was sure it was one of the typical fighting app games that people usually played on their devices. The kid made sure to put it away as a customer came up to check out, but he would surely take it back out again as soon as they were out the door.

He lingered in the front for a little while before moving to walk around the store once more, stalling when he thought of Pietro sitting alone in the office. He ought to apologize for the other night at least and maybe alleviate some of their boredom with a little conversation as he was sure to be staring at his screens with a dead expression.

“Hey,” he started off, catching the beta’s attention. The kid rolled his head to look over blandly until he realized it was James and his bored gaze brightened before he sat up straighter in his chair. “Sorry about leaving the other night.”

“I don’t care about that,” he waved. “Well, I did at first, but then I heard where you went and,” he rushed out. “It’s all good, man.”

“Wanda told you?” The alpha sighed. 

He didn’t really mind that his actions were being passed around, but hoped it had been kept between few people as he wasn’t too excited to talk about it over and over again. Steve at least knew when to stop asking him things, when his already short replies turned into sounds and grunts instead of words it was a sign to quit asking. But that came from years of being together, no one else was expected to know the same.

“About five times,” the twin nodded with a smirk.

“Wow,” James muttered. How many different ways was there to tell the same story that it had to be repeated that many times?

“Yeah,” Pietro laughed. “She was excited. Even tried to call me while it was happening. Anyway, you and Sunny?” He said, looking at the security guard expectantly, but the taller man said nothing and instead looked at him blandly. “Come on, give me something.”

“There’s nothing to give,” he grunted. “I gave her my jacket and we’re meeting for coffee.”

“So, I should ask again after coffee, okay,” he muttered. “Wanda wants to know,” he explained with a sigh. “She knows we talk when it gets slow, so I think she was hoping you’d have more to say.”

“Ah,” James muttered in understanding. He hadn’t pegged the beta as someone who would really care about relationship stuff, but it made sense now that he knew the guy was only a source for his sister.

“Also,” Pietro turned to him, suddenly cold. “I’m sure someone has said this already but,” he leveled the alpha with a bitter stare. “If you hurt Sunny, you’re dead to me.”

“Noted,” the alpha nodded.

Leaving the beta to stare idly at his screens, refreshing the stores website page to see if anyone had ordered in the last ten seconds, James was back on his way. He passed a few people on the way to the framing department, but mostly the store was empty, save for the other employees that were taking the chance to clean and face the shelves. Thor and Maria nodded at him as he walked by but made no other move to start a conversation with him so he continued on.

It was Bruce that finally flagged him down, though James had been expecting it and mentally braced himself for whatever the man had to say to him. Though Sunny was not technically his daughter he had seen the older alpha treat her with such care and affection they might as well have been related. The security guard had known what dating would initially entail, as the little omega was truly loved and protected by many people in the store. Something that might have scared another alpha or suitor looking to court, but it didn’t bother him much.

He had no plans to treat her poorly or drag her along should his feelings change at some point, that wasn’t who he was. Though he couldn’t stop them from worrying about it, so he’d let them all threaten him individually if it would make them feel better about the whole situation. His inner alpha was already looking forward to coffee and James could not deny that he was thinking about it as well.

“Couldn’t help but notice,” Bruce started off with a skeptical stare. “That Sunny smells a little different today,” he smiled at the younger alpha.

“We exchanged courting gifts,” James explained, watching to see how the other would react. There wasn’t too much a change in his expression, nor in his scent, which lingered in the area indifferent and content.

“Hm,” the other man nodded. “I figured, since Sunny isn’t bold enough to take anything from anyone without asking.”

James wasn’t sure what else to say and suddenly felt awkward in front of the little omega’s adopted father. Would he be threatened again? Certainly. Instead of saying anything else the security guard leaned warily against the counter, waiting for the warning that was sure to come next. He’d gotten his fair share of them as a much younger alpha, and would often growl in rebuttal or shrug it off, but this time he was cautious. Everyone he knew at the moment, in the store, and in his life, also knew Sunny. If he messed this up and hurt her somehow, not that he would ever try to, there was a chance his whole life would change.

“I’m not going to fight you James, don’t worry,” Bruce chuckled, scenting the sudden tension in the air. “You’re a good man, a good alpha, which is exactly what Sunny needs.”

“Thank you,” the security guard said, feeling warm at such compliments. 

He hadn’t been feeling like such a good person lately, and wondered faintly how other people saw him. It wasn’t a topic he dwelled on, because it wasn’t something he could change or control, but in the back of his mind he was sure they saw him as some  run-down man. Broken and worn from what he had been through, maybe not worth it anymore. It didn’t help that he had unintentionally ignored the little omega and couldn’t decide between feeling excited about the possibly of being able to scent her soon and feeling undeserving for leaving her in the dark.

Even after deciding that he didn’t want to be alone anymore, that he wanted a family and to feel like he belonged again, it was still tough to shake the feeling. That he was worth something, that he survived for a reason. 

“But you’ve only just exchanged courting gifts,” Bruce said with placating hands. “There’s no need to rush into things. I will say,” he paused, catching his gaze. “Tony might react differently from me, but do not let him dissuade you.”

“I won’t.”

“I’m going to tell him later, because if he finds out from someone else, I’ll be in trouble,” the older man groaned. “You’d think an apology and scenting would be enough for an omega, but it’s not,” he said. Eyes gazing off into the distance as he remembered something, likely an argument he had had with Tony at some point if his last comment was anything to go off.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” James chuckled.

“Sunny pouts-,” he stopped himself short. “You’ll figure it out,” he waved his hand in dismissal.

With that said they moved on to other topics, about their weekends and the awful weather outside. It was only supposed to get worse as the week went on, Thursday and Friday it was supposed to snow and the days that followed would be miserably cold. They muttered about the possibility of pipes freezing and how terribly people drove on icy streets despite it happening every winter. The conversation was easy and not very demanding and made James wish the ither alpha had gone out drinking with them. 

Though there hadn’t been any customers in the framing department that day Sunny was busy in the back working on a large project that had been ordered online over the weekend. It wasn’t due for another week or so but Bruce always had her start right away just in case. Apparently, there had been too many a time where she left it for the last minute and pushed herself to finish it on time while ignoring everything else in the meantime. She was an amazing artist once she set her mind to something, the problem was that, at times, it took her a while to settle on an idea and stick with it.

All the new information about Sunny was making James’ inner alpha want to purr, although the security guard himself ignored the urge to let the man continue and instead let the conversation end. Hearing about the little omega was great, but he wanted it to come from her, to watch and notice things on his own.

He didn’t see Sunny for the rest of the day, but received a text from her in the evening with coffee shop options that had been suggested by her roommate. One of them was on the smaller side but boasted a large food menu while the other had a larger inside seating and dining area but a smaller selection of drinks and pastries. Since he wasn’t going there for the beverages or flaky dessert it was an easy decision for the alpha. Sunny was the most important part of going there, he didn’t care about the other stuff.

When he got to work on Tuesday the little omega had already been in the workshop for the past three hours, according to what she had told him the night before about having to go in at nine. After punching in, he lingered in the front of the store, watching customers on their lunch breaks stare warily out the front windows. Familiar grey and dreary skies promised snow and icy wind chills for the next few days and dominated all conversation between cashiers and their charges at the register. They all mused about how they were going to lock themselves inside for probably the next week, or go straight to their cozy beds after work.

It was an easy topic to talk about, but all James could think about was what would happen the following morning and what they might talk about. Initially he wanted to use the time to talk about courting and see if Sunny wanted to do the more traditional way or mix and match with what couples did in more modern times. Because the colder it got, and the more he thought about how the girl was always so bundled up, the more his inner alpha was begging to wrap her in a warm hug. If they stuck to the traditional way that would not happen for a little while longer at least.

As he began his first stroll around the store Pietro called him towards the offices, probably to ask about any new developments in his relationship with Sunny so he could tell Wanda. 

Such was not the case.

When he walked around the corner the beta offered him a grimace before motioning with his head towards the usually empty and locked boss's office. The door was cracked open slightly and meant that Tony was there playing his part of store owner and head honcho. He usually showed up at some point during the week to make sure everything that they ordered had arrived and check on new items that he was curious about. Most of the time James never saw, or even knew he had been there that day until he was already gone, but not today. 

The alpha knocked on the door instead of opening it right away, waiting for the man within to reply before he walked into the room. The omega was looking idly through some papers and cast James a skeptical glance as he came to a stop in front of the desk with a short greeting and a nod. For a split second the security guard wondered what he could possibly want before he remembered what Bruce had said the day before.

“I know you’re a good guy, I know,” Tony started off.

What followed that first comment was a mess of the omega making half threats and almost compliments as he held a very one-sided conversation about his almost daughter. Who was pretty much his daughter, he would add this  afterwards. The interaction mirrored Bruce’s for content but held waves and waves of uncertainty, discontent, and hostility as the other man eyed him up and down. It ended with Tony stating nothing had really happened yet, much like his mate, and one more muttered threat. About what he should expect to happen to him if anything were done to his baby, who wasn’t his baby, but was close enough. The alpha got the point, and summed everything up as an omega being violently protective of his kid.

That was good though. If Sunny’s own family couldn’t be bothered it was only right that another one would fill in the gaps and take her as their own, it happened all the time with creatures in the wild. James was actually somewhat relieved that the little omega had such a great support system behind her, even if it was currently threatening his future safety.

James assured the hostile man that he was going to treat Sunny as best as he could, that he had no intentions of hurting her or anything else he was thinking of. Tony looked skeptical and eventually let him leave with a frown and a growl that Bruce laughed at later in the day. It went by both quickly and slowly. Sunny’s shift finished before his did and they caught each other's eyes as she walked out into the punishingly cold wind just as he rounded on the front of the store. She was bundled up as much as possible and offered him a little wave, her fingers completely obscured by the long sleeves of her oversized jacket.

Only a couple text messages about the café were sent later in the evening before they bid each other good night and James spent the next hour or so staring at the ceiling. His inner alpha was brimming with confidence and already jazzed about holding the girl in his arms, scenting her, and feeling her purr against him. Most excited for the purring as it meant an omega was truly comfortable and had accepted someone when they made that noise. It was still stuck in his ears from Thanksgiving all those nights ago, when she had fallen asleep against Tony and again on New Year's.

He wanted to bury his nose in her neck and breathe deeply until her scent was thick on his tongue as if he could taste it. To cover her with his pheromones until he was sure no other alpha would ever look her way again, and James held him back. Inner alpha complaining heavily against the suppression as the security guard felt his cheeks burn at such thoughts, there was no reason to get ahead of himself.

The next morning, he arrived at the coffee shop a good fifteen minutes before their meeting time. Determined to make sure they got a table inside and wouldn’t have to deal with standing and waiting for someone to leave so they could sit down and talk comfortably. There were three empty tables to choose from and he picked the one that was a little further away from the others. More near the back of the store and away from anyone curious enough to look around. The table had an unlit, half gone candle in a peach tinted glass container that smelled faintly of jasmine and a tiny vase with two fake flowers inside it. He wondered if, during spring and summer, they were replaced by real ones.

After sending her a text saying that he was already there and near the back of the café he relaxed more into his chair and shed his outer jacket, scarf, and hat as the temperature inside was cozy and warm. He could feel, and see from the corner of his eye, the barista staring at him as he glanced around the store idly. It probably looked strange that he had come in and sat down before ordering anything, and now he was shedding a bunch of layers without even looking at the menu.

Sunny walked in before his thoughts wandered too much and he instead looked once again at her red tinted cheeks and nose as white snowflakes melted onto her clothes and hair. She smiled at him and he could see the slight upturn of her lips from beneath a scarf and the way her eyes scrunched up slightly.

“It started snowing,” she said.

“I can see that,” he chuckled as she sank into the chair in front of him. 

“Did you order yet?”

“Not yet, waiting for you,” he said and she nodded slowly.

“Let me  ju -,” she stopped abruptly as she pulled off her scarf. 

Next was her hat, bulky jacket, and warm looking gloves that she shoved into her bag. What remained was a black sweater tucked into high waisted skinny blue jeans, black boots, and a mustard yellow knit cardigan that went down to her mid thighs. The exposed, milky, skin of her neck distracted him for a moment before she finished putting everything over the back of her chair and into her bag.

The barista flicked his eyes between James and Sunny as they walked up to the counter, lingering longer on the omega as she turned her gaze towards the menu. James stared at him openly, waiting for them to catch eyes, and when they did the other man jumped slightly and looked away with a visible jerk of his head. She picked a chai latte while he ordered black coffee and held up a hand when she tried to pay for her drink. Grunting in response to her thank you, as it was only three dollars anyway, they settled back down at their table with his drink, that had been handed to him almost immediately.

“I looked up some things on the internet,” Sunny started. It was abrupt and she must have noticed if the way she turned away in slight embarrassment was anything to go by. “About courting,” she explained and he nodded. “Do we really need chaperones?” She asked and he shook his head before answering.

“No, no,” he chuckled. “That doesn’t happen anymore.”

“Okay, good,” she smiled nervously. “Because my parents,” she trailed off and he filled in. Not wanting her to think about her failure of a family for a second longer than she had to.

“Tony would never leave us alone,” he muttered. Watching as a flash of confusion scrunched her eyes before she laughed and nodded. Her gaze turned off him for a second and she stiffened.

“Is that the hat and scarf I made?” She questioned and he followed her stare to look at the knitted dark blue clothing in question.

“Yes,” he said. “I never did get to say it, but thank you, they’re very warm.”

“I’m happy you’re using them,” she mumbled, cheeks turning a soft pink. He left out the part where he would’ve used them a lot faster had they still smelled like her, but since she was already blushing, he didn’t want to make it worse.

“We don’t have to follow the courting rules, we can go at our own pace, or,” he trailed off. They could do a hybrid of modern and more traditional courting, but he didn’t want to jump straight into scenting like some people did nowadays.

“I’ve never dated anyone before,” she hesitated. Embarrassed about her inexperience enough that she looked down at her hands on the table, still empty of a drink, he noted. “So, if I get something wrong, I’m sorry,” she frowned. Her apology ending just as the barista called out that her concoction was ready for pick up.

“Hold that thought,” he muttered already getting up to retrieve it. She moved to stand but at that point he was already returning with it in hand and placed it in front of her carefully. The omega was still looking down dejectedly, her scent slightly bitter as she more than likely stewed over possibly having said the wrong thing. “Don’t worry about that,” he said and she looked at him. 

“I don’t want to do something wrong,” she insisted. He growled without meaning to and the noise made her shrink away slightly.

“I’m actually happy that you don’t have any experience,” James said, catching her surprised eyes with a smirk. “It means I get all your firsts and can help you.”

He meant it as something reassuring, because the thought of her going to someone else for advice or asking what an alpha would like from an omega best made his blood boil. They would more than likely lead her astray, take her innocence and run with it, or try to manipulate her, which was something he would certainly not do. Alpha’s these days were much crasser than he liked, even some of his buddies in the army rubbed him the wrong way with how they talked about the second gender.

Sunny reacted much differently than he had been expecting and blushed darkly, cheeks and tips of her ears turning red as her scent pulsed with embarrassment and warmth that flooded him. He realized his mistake a few moments afterwards and tried to play it off as coolly as he could, even though his inner alpha was having a heyday. Here was an untouched omega, an innocent and pure girl who was likely to mix scents with his own effortlessly and preen at his praises. How had she gone this long without someone snatching her up?

Because she had a whole store of people looking out for her, a family that destroyed her confidence and instilled in her broken ideas and beliefs, and a lack of information. James stopped himself before he thought about it too much, his mood always soured when recalled her unfortunate childhood and upbringing. In actuality, Sunny was a rare occurrence and he should count himself lucky that she wanted anything to do with him in the first place.

“As long as you’re okay with it,” she nodded and finally looked at him. A look of determination on her face that he couldn’t help but think was cute.

“If you want me to, I can ask you before I do anything. That way you’re not surprised and I won’t overstep your boundaries,” he offered.

As a teenager he’d always done everything impetuously and would kiss, scent, and hug his partners out of nowhere which caused a few breakups and near mating's alike. He used to like the rush of adrenaline that came with wondering how the other would react but he’d since changed and a new image popped into his head. The omega blushing profusely when he asked if he could kiss her and the little  nod she would give in return to signal that it was okay. He nearly purred at the thought and had to clear his throat softly to cover up any sound that might’ve otherwise escaped.

Since coming back from the army everything had been new, especially with his arm and outlook on life, so why should this relationship be any different?

“That would be nice,” she said nervously. “I’ll do the same thing.”

“You don’t have to, I like surprises,” he smiled. Although he didn’t know if that was true anymore, once upon a time he did, when life had been easy and somewhat boring, but it was different now.

“Are you sure?” She asked and he merely nodded in response. A small sound of contentment was her answer as she went to sip her drink.

Their conversation got a little sidetracked when he asked what she had been working on the past couple days, as Bruce had mentioned the customer was being extra picky. He liked seeing her work whenever someone brought it up to the checkout counter, it all varied so much he wondered where she got her ideas from. She liked doing landscapes and animals mostly and said it probably came from when she would go camping with her family as a kid. Being around nature was something they both seemed to like at least, if they lasted past  winter they could go on hike and such together.

She showed him some of her past commissions on her phone and muttered about what she wished she would have changed or mistakes, but all he saw were amazing pieces of artwork that he imagined must’ve taken hours upon hours of focus to finish. How did she even manage to get such fine details with a burning piece of metal anyway?

It shifted again when she asked him about a customer Loki lovingly called the dandelion, who was a tall old alpha woman who always had dry flaky skin and an attitude like someone had just cut her off on the highway. Silky blond hair looked very out of place on the woman’s head as the rest of her body did not seem to get the same care afforded to the golden locks. She was too skinny and the beta always joked that she would blow away should a gust of wind arise. Loki liked her because she appeared at least once a weak to talk smack and try to get him to cave on their return policies.

James had many a story about the woman and Sunny explained that she always heard about the lady but had never seen her in person. She was starting to think the dandelion didn’t exist and the tall beta was merely making fun of her, so she thanked him for confirming that she was, in fact, real.

They broke off into smaller conversation, though there were also a few moments of silence that were somewhat awkward they didn’t let it deter them from fishing for a different topic. Sunny’s scent changed quickly and often gave away her emotions if they didn’t show on her face, which  James thought was kind of sweet. Her beta parents, who wouldn’t have really noticed it, had likely never told her to regulate it more unless she wanted to give away all her secrets.

“You can come see what I’m working on later if you want,” she said as they started getting ready to leave.

“I’ll do that,” he smiled and she returned it.

“Also,” she hesitated, worry tinting her scent. “If you’re free Saturday night, you can come over and watch a movie with us.” She said it like a question and seemed to be expecting him to say no. “Us being Annie, her girlfriend, and I,” she added.

“A movie would be great,” he grunted and her scent warmed almost immediately. “Let me walk you to your car.”

With all their layers back on, and snow now covering the ground, they walked carefully on top of it, making fresh footprints in the snow as Sunny led the way to her old vehicle. Once there she stood awkwardly in front of him, her gloved hands fidgeting as he thought about the best way to say goodbye. They were going to see each other at work within the next two hours or so anyway.

“We don’t have to hug or anything,” he assured her and she nodded slowly.

“I  want to,” she rushed out.

“Okay,” he said and tried to catch her nervous gaze. 

She was fiddling with something in her bag while approaching him quickly as they shared a brief embrace before she pushed something into his hands while blushing wildly. The hug lasted no more than a couple seconds, and had been a little awkward with so many layers on but James’ inner alpha was as happy with it as he was.

“This is?” He muttered while unraveling it to reveal a large t-shirt.

“Because you technically never got anything with my scent on it, I thought you might want something,” she said without looking at him. “It’s the biggest shirt I had.”

The scent that wafted up from the shirt was close to the one she had emitted on New Year's and James had to stop himself from bringing it up to his nose right then and there. He should at least wait until he got into the safety of his car to do such a thing, but he couldn’t stop himself from imagining the little omega sleeping in the shirt. Had she kept it against her mating gland for a while or something? It almost smelled like candy.

“Can I hug you again?” He asked, remembering that he said he would make sure she was okay with everything before doing it.

“Yeah,” she whispered still looking at the ground.

“Thank you,” he said while embracing her.

It lasted a good six seconds even though James had not given Sunny the chance to wrap her arms around him, and they were instead trapped between both of their chests. His easily swallowed her form and let go before she started to get nervous again and he was on his way towards his car.

“See you at work,” he grunted. Turning around to see that she had not yet moved but waved at him shyly as he walked away.

It had gone well, and in the rush of what had just happened he almost completely forgot that he would be spending more time with her on Saturday. He’d considered asking her for something with her scent on it in passing, always talking himself out of it and convincing himself that he’d make do with being close to her. Getting something else from her had been the last thing he expected to happen, yet there it was in his hands. The shirt was too small to fit him even though she said it was the biggest one she had, which meant if she ever wore one of his she would be swimming in it. He wanted to see it.

Before he could stop himself or think better of it, and as soon as the door to his vehicle closed, he brought the shirt closer to his face and inhaled, letting out a shaky sigh of contentment. Sunny had begun to solidify in his mind as a potential mate more and more as the days passed. What might have started initially as simple alpha omega attraction was changing as he got to know about her. He wanted to see what she was working on and what other things she liked to do, see her outside of the store, and spoil her.

God, she deserved to be spoiled.

For the first time in a long time, he was excited to go to work for someone, and perhaps she was too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't with these two, they're too cute.


	10. Chapter 10

As soon as he made it through the front door of his apartment his eyes met Steve who immediately scented the air and grinned at his best friend, raising his eyebrows suggestively until James sighed. Showing the other alpha his new courting gift with an annoyed frown as he walked back into his room while the man joked about how he could turn it into a pillow cover. Which, to his inner alpha, sounded like a fantastic idea, but the security guard merely grunted and waved him off.

In his room James shed his layers and unfolded the shirt carefully, it was pale blue with a little, faded, sunflower on the upper right side. Fabric soft to the touch and bursting with sweet, untouched, omega scent as he looked it over again, tracing the tiny petals as he thought of how it might have looked on the girl. The smell alone was enough to get him salivating as he thought of her pale unmarked neck, the dreamlike image of her wearing it only further spurred his inner alpha into a heated need.

He pushed the deep urge back down, a growl escaping him as he scented the shirt one last time before laying it on one of his pillows, sure that some of her lingering pheromones would transfer to his cover. Not stooping to what Steve had suggested but getting pretty close.

At work James made a rare trip behind the counter of the framing department and into the workshop where Sunny was completely focused on her project. Only when he walked right in front of her did she react by looking at his legs skeptically, her gaze traveled upwards to his face before greeting him but looking away with a small blush. It hadn’t been too long since they’d hugged and she pushed her scent infused clothing into his hands, which he was sure still had traces of her lemon and ginger sweetness. He grunted in response and let out a warm, comforting, scent to calm her down and also show his appreciation of that morning once more.

She let out a soft sound before showing him what she was working on, carefully putting down her burning tool as he looked it over. On a decently sized square plaque Sunny was at least halfway done with a darkly colored moth that had the beginnings of a human skull on its back and eerie eyes hidden in its wing patterns. The customer had a list of things he wanted to be included and Sunny had sent him a simple sketch of what she was thinking of before she started on the real thing.

The detail that was already there was intricate and well-defined with a seamless gradation of light to dark in some areas as well as thin, dainty lines in others. From afar, James had seen some of the omegas works at the registers as their new owners checked out and exited the store, but seeing it up close was very different. He couldn’t help but marvel at the unfinished piece that she was idly pointing out mistakes in, muttering about what she wished she had done differently until he stopped her with a compliment.

For a moment she was quiet but her scent betrayed her once more as a familiar sugary smell bloomed in the workshop and she thanked him shyly. He nearly groaned at the reaction, split between being pleased that she was responding to him so well and irritated that she was apparently unused to getting such simple praise. Although it could also be because it was coming from him, the alpha she was courting, as Tony and Bruce were sure to have showered her with many compliments and flattery.

It was sure to be the latter and the alpha let her get back to work after that, leaving her sweet scent behind as he made his way back up to the front of the store where Peter and Loki were holding down the fort. More people were fighting the wind to come shopping than they had been the day before which kept the two cashiers with a steady flow of customers. Though the lines never got longer than one or two, it never left them with more than a few minutes between sales to really slack off or get bored.

With the winter storm coming they hadn’t been expecting too many people to show up, though most of them explained they were getting things to do for the next few days and weekend that were sure to snow everybody in. It made sense and spelled out what could be expected at work which could end up being somewhat similar to how it had been in the evening on Valentine’s day.

The following morning was busy as those who hadn’t shopped the day prior rushed to get something before it started snowing around two in the afternoon, at which point the store was nearly empty of customers. There was still the occasional person after that, but they were few and far between as flakes continued to fall all across town. Conversation at the registers varied between dreading the drive home and laughing about how poorly others seemed to navigate the streets at the first sign of ice or snow.

Most of the other employees, at this point, were walking around somewhat aimlessly facing shelves and looking for things to clean, except for Sunny who was close to finishing her custom order. Bruce offered James easy conversation as the older alpha recounted past winters and what the security guard might expect before spring finally rolled around. Steve had mentioned it briefly but his friend hadn’t been living in the town nearly as long as the framing manager, who had tales of an ice storm, power outages, and which roads to avoid.

Before leaving the alpha to continue his trek around the store James poked his head into the workshop to see Sunny completely absorbed by her project, which Bruce said was very close to being finished. He’d even offered to take a picture of it before it disappeared so the security guard could see how it had turned out, and he thanked the older man with a grunt as he walked away.

Whenever he saw the little omega at work his inner alpha pushed him to interact with her, but when they spoke to each other, or smiled, it went further and the beast always demanded a touch or hug. He wondered if Sunny would ever be the type to indulge in such behavior, or if she would prefer to do things in privacy. Hopefully he’d find out.

Their texting exchanges didn’t amount to much, but James chalked it up to the fact that they worked together and anything they wanted to say could be done in person. Except that, like usual, he barely saw the omega because she was busy in the workshop. Although, after he had seen her latest commission, her persisting business made sense as he couldn’t fault anyone who would want their own  hand-crafted artwork in their homes.

On Friday the store was a ghost town that saw Bruce near his mate's empty office talking to the other managers. When they saw each other, the other alpha informed him that Sunny had completed the last piece and had nothing to work on for the day if he wanted to go back and see the finished product and possibly catch a conversation. It was another rare occasion that she was at the front counter and James couldn’t help but remember the last time it had happened, when he was still unaware of their interest in each other.

This time she looked up at his approach and offered a small smile that he nodded at in response. She offered him a good morning that he returned with a grunt as he took in her scent and appearance in front of him. He’d been thinking about her a lot in the past few days since their coffee date, usually at night when he could smell her scent radiating from t-shirt that he’d moved to his dresser after some of it had rubbed off on his pillows. His inner alpha was already impatient with how things were progressing but James was content regardless.

“Was there a lot of snow on your car this morning?” She asked as he leaned against the counter and looked past her into the workshop for a moment. The man shook his head a little before answering.

“Our place has covered parking,” he explained and she gasped softly.

“Lucky,” she groaned. “It took me forever,” a frown pulled at her lips slightly.

“I’ll help you after work if you need it,” he muttered and she jerked to look at him suddenly.

“You don’t have to,” she rushed out. “We probably won’t leave at the same time anyway.” The little omega blushed in embarrassment at her sudden aversion to having the alpha help her and the man made a soft rumbling sound that made her cheeks burn. “It was nice of you to offer though,” she mumbled.

He couldn’t help the small grin that broke his face as she stammered, unused to the attention and offer for help, it was cute. She’d more than likely spent most of her life doing things alone and figured out, early on, that the only person that would look out for her was herself, which shouldn’t be true for an omega, but it happened.

“I finished the moth,” she said, changing the subject. “Do you want to see?”

When he nodded, she scrambled off her stool and disappeared into the workshop with him on her tail, the usually messy counters were somewhat clean for a change. She must’ve gotten bored and spent some time clearing the wood shavings and nails, though, now that he thought about it, Bruce had more than likely been the one to do so. From a rack of finished orders, she pulled her latest piece off a shelf and placed it on the table between the two of them.

Parts of it had been stained and painted with gold leaf she explained as he looked it over. The finished skull was a shiny metallic and shimmered as he pulled his eyes across the artwork from corner to corner. Wispy plants now lined the border in thin intricate lines of hidden detail that pulled his gaze this way and that as he tried to take it all in without staring for  too long as the girl next to him fidgeted slightly.

“I messed up a  litt -,” she started to pick it apart in his silence. Small fingers pointing towards a tiny splotch of gold on one of the leaves that he had mistaken for a flower, unaware that the mark wasn’t intentional until she said it. The style, and subject, were not things he would usually gravitate towards but he couldn’t deny the craft and artistry behind the piece.

“You did a great job,” he grunted, cutting her off. 

“Thank you,” she trilled softly, scent filling with warmth. He wished it was already Saturday night so they could spend more time together outside of work.

“It’s easy to see flaws when you’re the artist, but I don’t see anything wrong with it,” he added and she looked at the ground shyly.

“Yeah, that’s true,” she muttered. “Got to break the habit, I guess,” she shrugged. 

Which James interpreted as an opportunity, or need, to compliment and praise the omega as much as possible as she was obviously not used to it. If anything, he would at least get to see her squirm and scent the awkward pheromones as she tried to figure out how to accept it. 

“Is there anything I can bring tomorrow night?” He asked once she had calmed down slightly. The omega looked thoughtful for a moment, and perhaps grateful that the topic had once again shifted away from her.

“We usually eat dinner before and have snacks during. If there’s anything you’d like to munch you can bring that,” she said and the man nodded.

“What do you usually have?”

“Popcorn, potato chips, some kind of fruit, and Maren always brings candy,” the omega listed them off.

“Annie’s girlfriend, Maren?” He questioned and she nodded.  ”Is there anything you’d like me to bring?” He offered and she shook her head.

“We’re not picky,” she assured him.

The conversation continued onto which type of  movies they each enjoyed as they tried to figure out a genre or theme that they could then select something from. James was open to pretty much anything, but would prefer not to watch something that was straight romance or animated children's movies. Even though there were jokes for adults hidden in the dialogue he just didn’t enjoy it as much as the next person, and would rather not fake interest in something that could be easily avoided. Sunny was not the biggest fan of movies with a lot of gore and blood, she could watch them but admitted to being easily spooked by the carnage.

Which was understandable, he wasn’t the biggest horror movie buff so it would be an easy thing to avoid. According to the omega, Maren was a television and movie junkie who had seen almost everything under the sun, had no preference and no dislikes when it came to films. It was Annie who was the picky one, they’d likely be battling her for something decent. In the end, James didn’t care about the movie as much as who he was going to be, hopefully, sitting next to. 

He left back towards the front after she wrote down her address and told him that they were usually ready to go, all settled into the couch by eight ten to eight twenty, depending on when Annie got off work. It was only halfway through the day and he was ready for it to be over, especially when he thought of how he’d have to clear the snow off his car after work.

Lack of customers made the day go by agonizingly slow before Tony allowed them to close the store a little earlier than usual. Sunny had been allowed to go home a few hours prior as she really had nothing else to do and she sent him a picture of her snow-covered windshield that she had drawn a frowny face in with her fingers. A smirk pulled at his lips as he imagined her throwing the snow this way and that as she tried to rid her vehicle of its icy white blanket.

That night he scented his pillow carefully trying to find the lemony ginger aroma that was slowly fading off the fabric as the days dragged on. Eventually, if hugging became more regular, their scents would naturally cling to each other and he wouldn’t have to worry about what he’d do after her t-shirt had been touched one too many times. For  now, he’d have to make do with the lingering pheromones that transferred onto his pillow case after he’d let the shirt lay on it all day.

Tony called everyone early the next morning and told them to take a day off because the roads were still icy and he wasn’t expecting anyone to have a need for felt or model trains in the next twenty-four hours. Sunny texted him a little emoji of a party popper or something, he wasn't quite sure what it was, before he drifted back off to sleep.

Being off from work for a snow day felt strange and transported him back to being in school and stalking the news for any hint at a winter storm so they could spend the next day going wild. Steve beat him in getting up and going to the gym, only to inform him that it too was closed due to the weather, and the few people on the roads were going very slowly. It’d stopped falling early that morning and left behind a good two feet of snow.

James settled for taking a long walk around his area instead of his usual workout, bundling up similar to what he had worn to the coffee shop with Sunny. Staring briefly at the omegas handmade hat and scarf that he still wished smelled like the girl, it would've made everything so much easier. If they’d started courting/dating after the Christmas party he’d be that much closer to scenting or kissing the girl instead of barely being on their second hang out. Another negative against them was the season and temperature. He much preferred outdoor activities for dates or outings, but that was hard to do with freezing wind whipping at them, or threats of blizzards hanging over their heads.

He wondered if she’d be against going on a walk like he was at the moment or if she was perhaps not an athletic person at all. They’d figure it out, but couldn’t stop himself from thinking about her next to him as their feet crunched and compacted the snow beneath them and tried not to slip on iced over puddles. There were already footprints on the trail, one of them likely to be Steve’s as he had not gotten to run at the gym and more than likely got his exercise by battling the cold conditions of the earlier freezing morning.

The other alpha had plans already made plans in the late morning to have a sort of brunch with his valentine date, whom James had yet to meet or even learn the name of. Though he was fine with that, Steve was nosy when it came to new things going on with him but the security guard did not share the same interest. While his friend was getting ready James had slipped out the door to enjoy some ice-cold air that turned his breath into puffs of smoke that disappeared into the whiteness of the cloudy sky above him. It was supposed to snow on and off all day, further caking the city in more and more layers until the storm finally moved further through the state on Sunday.

Would tony issue another snow day tomorrow as well, or ask his employees to brave the icy roads to babysit what would likely be an almost empty store for the day? If it did end up being another day  off, he’d probably end up spending most of it inside, more than likely thinking about things that would be happening during movie night.

At the end of his trek through the snow, numbing cold biting at his exposed skin, toes, and fingertips, James had finally decided on what to bring later that night. Steve had mentioned he should bring something like ice cream or popsicles as a kind of joke in the already cold weather, but the security guard declined that option. Even when his friend persisted by saying Sunny could feel chilled with the added cold and lean further towards him for warmth, he shook his head. It was tempting, but he wanted to make something instead.

It would require him to go over a little earlier than the time Sunny had told him but it would be worth it to have them fresh out of the oven as opposed to cooling down if he made them at home. The omega said it was fine and it would give them more time to look through any new movies that may have been added onto her streaming services. Plus, it would give him a chance to meet Maren and get to know the general layout of the place.

Steve returned from his date and informed James that he had had a great time despite the cold and how most everything had closed due to the snow, even though the metal armed man had not asked. He nodded along regardless as his friend commented on how his date, a girl, how she was clever and blunt but also soft. She challenged him and he liked that, and the security guard was happy for him, yet couldn’t help but think about Sunny at the same time. A short trip to the store would ensure that he had all his ingredients for the night and, on the plus side, he wouldn’t have to deal with as many people either.

With two containers full of supplies for batter and a baking dish James arrived at Sunny and Annie’s rental house a good thirty minutes before the beta was scheduled to get off work. Which would give him more than enough time to assemble his dish, pop it into the oven, and explore the place before the other woman arrived to berate their movie choices.

The place was drab on the outside, though that could be attributed to the bleak nature that happened during the winter months, and the blanket of snow that covered their front yard. A single car, garage door, that looked like it hadn’t been opened in years and a fence to the backyard he could hop over could be seen from the street. There was a small concrete front porch with a large empty pot off to the side, he might’ve doubted it was their place if not for the omega's decrepit car in the driveway.

Sunny opened the door with a smile and beckoned him inside, warm yellow light welcoming him into the cozy home as she closed the door. It was a relatively open spaced layout with the living room right in front of him, the kitchen table beyond that and a sunroom after that. To the right, immediately, was the door that most likely led to the garage and then a blocked off fireplace with a television sitting on the mantle. On the other side was a black futon and loveseat scattered with patterned pillows and a few blankets that hung over the back.

“You must be James,” a voice pulled him out of his observation. The muted scent of a beta greeted him before he looked up to see someone who looked slightly familiar for some reason. “I’m Maren, Annie’s girlfriend.”

She held out her hand for him to shake, her grip tight and firm as she grinned at him. Her olive skin was littered with countless freckles, brown eyes leveling him with a calm stare that exuded confidence. She had thick, silky, black hair that went down to her chest, bangs parted in the middle to frame her face.

“Pleasure,” James said back to her before her expression changed to skeptical. He started taking off some of his layers to place on the hooks Sunny showed him upon entering as the beta eyed him.

“I think we go to the same gym,” she chuckled. “You’re friends with that blond alpha Steve, right?”

“I am,” he nodded and Sunny looked between them curiously. “Thought you looked familiar.”

“You’re the one who saved Sunny right?” She questioned and he nodded, watching as a grin split her face. “Thanks for that.”

“Course,” he grunted and the beta’s smile only grew.

“I turned the oven on to four hundred,” Sunny said softly between them. “Not sure what temperature you needed,” she muttered.

“Small adjustment,” he said and she nodded. “Thank you.”

Maren took over from there after the omega said she needed to finish cleaning up and disappeared into a hallway next to the couches. The beta worked alongside him, pulling out popcorn and chips to put into separate bowls while pointing him towards anything that he needed, chatting idly as she did so. The beta was charming and easy to get along with, their conversation flowed with ease. It was a big contrast from how she appeared to be at the gym when she could be found lifting as much, if not more so, than most of the men.

From afar, with her hair tied up in a bun, he was sure she was an alpha. She was somewhat stocky, with a muscled athletic build that she proudly showed off, arms and legs powerfully flexing and  bulging as she worked out. Up close her body was well defined and sturdy, but also soft, gentled by her personality and cheerful disposition.

When Sunny returned, wearing a different shirt, he was nearly done and in the process of cleaning his last mixing bowl. Dessert already in the oven as she apologized for leaving him alone right away, though he assured her that he hadn’t minded. Which was not a lie as Maren had more than filled the silence with her consistent, but not annoying, conversation. 

Before going to finish cleaning Sunny had been wearing a simple grey hoodie with letters on the back that were half peeled off from wear and tear. She’d swapped it out with a chunky sage turtleneck that accentuated her green doe eyes even more than usual, black leggings that hugged her legs, and dark blue socks. It looked comfortable and soft and he was suddenly thankful that he hadn’t suggested a movie at the theater instead. At her house it was much more relaxed and her scent, half covered by Maren and Annie’s, lingered on handles and wafted to him every once in a while as he worked.

“Finished?” Maren asked of the shorter girl who nodded. “Us too.”

“What did you make?” Sunny questioned as he started to dry some of his mixing utensils.

“Cheesecake brownies,” he muttered, watching her face light up.

“Sounds  dangerous ,” she gasped.

“Don’t they?” Maren agreed.

“I know you can already see most of the house, but do you want a tour?” The omega said shyly, suddenly embarrassed to be asking such a thing. James was reminded of Tony almost immediately and he smiled at the similarity between the, kind of, adopted father and daughter.

“Sounds great,” he said and she nearly beamed at him, proud omega scent coming out slightly. Again, not unlike the older omega at his holiday parties.

“I’ll look for potential movies while you do that,” the beta excused herself.

Annie was responsible for most of the large furniture, which was varying shades of tan, teal, and grey, the soft blue-green had been her hair color when they’d first moved in and she wanted to match. Everything else was kind of thrown together, there were mismatched tables and chairs, that still somehow worked together, and interesting but tasteful artwork on the walls. Few of them had been created by the omega who explained that after working on things for so long she was usually tired of seeing them. Made it less appealing to hang up.

The décor, layout, and furniture made the house feel comfortable and cozy, James didn’t feel at all strange walking through it, unlike Tony’s place that was so expensive and, at times, extravagant it made the alpha feel awkward. Inside the garage, which was cold enough to make Sunny shiver, was a mess of Annie’s abandoned hobbies, dusty workout materials, and shelves of half-finished wood burning pieces. The omega blushed when he picked up a couple and looked at her quizzically.

She’d likely never pick them up again depending on which shelf they were situated on and her roommate helped by putting them on the higher levels that she couldn’t reach anyway. Confessing that she had gotten bored while working on them and stopped instead of forcing it, her scent twisting up sheepishly. His inner alpha beamed at her display and James had to stop himself from teasing her further, lest her face flush completely in crimson.

There was another shelf of tree rings and wooden planks in her room as well as a sturdy desk with all her supplies and tools. A stack of papers looked to be messily, and hurriedly, stacked on one side, as if she was trying to hide how chaotic it had been before he arrived. There were sketches, postcards, paintings, and prints covering two of her walls, a few of them catching his attention before he stopped himself. It’d take him at least twenty minutes to look at them all and he wasn’t about to do that right now. Small fairy lights were also hung in both of the windows, glowing a soft blue, though she said she could change them to one of any ten colors.

Her closet door was only open an inch or so but he could tell it was hiding things within, most likely a pile of clothes and blankets that she hadn’t put away yet. If the workshop at the store was any sign of how organized she was the clean room around him was something of a rare occurrence.

On her bed was a grey blue blanket bundled up with something else that he didn’t recognize as his jacket until they were walking out. He grinned after realizing what it was, a burst of satisfied pheromones leaving him as one of his dreamlike thoughts solidified in his mind. Sunny sleeping in and with his jacket. She wasn’t nearly as confident as Tony when it came to defending her decisions, but that was fine.

When they were finished, Annie’s room the only one left untouched, Maren listed off some of her top picks while also telling them what she thought of the movies. Halfway through the third suggestion the other beta arrived home with a groan and a burst of cold air that seeped into the house and made the rest of them shift away a bit.

Annie was just as he’d seen her the day of Sunny’s unexpected heat, confident and rushed to get out of her work clothes. She greeted him in passing saying that she wanted to shed her fake skin before introducing herself properly, which turned out to be a quick thing. Soon she was in a t-shirt with a cartoon printed on the front that was very form fitting, off white sweatpants, and a pastel purple cardigan. Her calculated, sharp, gaze fell on him for a few seconds before she extended out her hand and offered the same greeting her girlfriend had. Nice to meet you, many thanks, and what did you make?

The beta was taller than Maren by a few inches, though still shorter than he was, and full of fire and spite for her new manager who had kept everyone until closing despite there being no new customers since six thirty. She presented a box full of loaded french-fries that she put on the rectangular coffee table in front of the couch before sinking into the loveseat with a growl. A muted spike of vanilla bursting from the beta as she massaged her scalp and picked up the remote to look through what her partner had selected.

Within the next five minutes they were all settled in front of the television, Sunny and James on the couch while the two betas happily stuffed themselves onto the other, throwing unwanted pillows at a glaring omega. And after five minutes of the lilac haired girl rejecting any and everything, they suggested it finally landed on what was described as being a witty and heartfelt movie that Maren recommended. Not that the alpha really cared with Sunny sitting next to him on the couch, her scent mixing with his own as she moved closer and closer to him, their shoulders and knees nearly touching.

He paid attention enough to be able to respond to their questions without completely feeling like a fish out of water. Sunny appeared to be more of a quiet watcher, unlike her roommate who commented on something every few minutes or so. If the omega wasn’t sitting next to  him he likely would’ve been more annoyed but the smaller girl was acting like a buffer of sorts. 

At some point he got up to take the brownies out of the oven and when he came  back he purposefully sat closer to the little omega, making the couch cushions dip just enough that she shifted towards him without meaning to. She didn’t correct it or move away which was a good sign, though a nervous gaze glanced his way before jerking back towards the television when he tried to catch it. Her embarrassed scent hit him immediately and he could just barely make out her flushed cheeks in the dim light the screen provided.

It would be so easy for him to lean over and scent her or pull her into his lap and bury his nose in her neck but he resisted. He almost growled at her shyness, inner alpha purring at the display and begging him to make some sort of move to touch or hold her. She would fit so nicely in his arms, slot perfectly against his chest, short enough that he could rest his chin on her head or lean down and whisper in her ear. He sighed at the thought and Sunny seemed to flinch slightly at the sound, which probably meant that she was paying more attention to him than the film, just like he was.

“Are the brownies done?” Annie’s voice interrupted his thoughts. The beta’s stern gaze caught his own with a bitter air about it. He nodded while grunting out a yes before the girl’s eyes jerked towards Sunny and thinned slightly. “ C’mere ,” was all the lilac girl said before she was up and away.

“Do you want me to get you a brownie?” The little omega asked of him as she pulled herself away from his form and out from the sinking cushions.

“Sure,” he muttered and she smiled softly before  walking away.

When they were both in the kitchen Maren chuckled softly and he looked over at her instead of the movie, the other beta had an apologetic smirk on her face. Peppermint scent filtering through the vanilla of her girlfriend and Sunny’s sharp lemon with ease. Pulling the smaller girl away was definitely intentional but James had been expecting it to happen at some point and only wondered by who and when. It didn’t bother him in the slightest, he’d been through it before as a young adult and teenager. 

“Sorry,” the beta sighed. “She’s a little protective of Sunny.”

“Her and everyone else,” he muttered.

“Hard not to be,” Maren shrugged and he hummed in agreement.

“Mare, do you want one?” Annie’s voice called from the kitchen.

“Yes, please,” her voice was just as loud.

The lilac haired beta returned first, with two squares of chocolatey goodness on separate napkins. Sitting back down as she placed one in her girlfriend’s waiting hand before getting a quick peck on the cheek in return. An act that James was definitely jealous of. He and Sunny were not nearly on that level, it was only the second date/hang out and he was already thinking of scenting her silly and stealing kisses. Her small noises and pink dusted face certainly didn’t help either.

But if James was anything it was patient, which would undoubtably be handy with the little omega. The girl returned with much the same bounty as Annie, a brownie in each hand while she walked back towards him before hesitating in front of the couch. Teeth worrying her bottom lip as she stared at her spot with a somewhat worried expression that he wasn’t sure how to translate. The little lip bite was adorable though and if it was done by anyone else, he would assume it purposeful, but had no idea in regards to the girl before him. He watched her eyes flick over to the other couple for a second and then she was moving to sit back down.

This would be a little test to what he had done earlier, if she sat away from him like they had been when the movie first started it meant he was going too fast and if she went back to how it had been it was okay. What ended up happening was a little awkward, kind of strange, but very sweet. Halfway through sitting down she tried to give him his square, stopped short, sat a little bit away from him, placed their baked goods on the table, and then carefully moved back to where she had been before Annie called her away. She even leaned against him a little more than she had previously, a small sound of uncertainty leaving her before she looked up at him cautiously.

He almost laughed at the whole display, likening her to a cat that was trying to get comfortable before finally finding a spot that proved to be a slight inconvenience. As she was leaning against his arm in such a way that he probably wouldn’t be able to lift it without jostling her, which he wasn’t going to do after she’d been through such an internal ordeal. 

“Comfortable?” He teased instead and an instant flush of her cheeks was his response.

“Yeah,” she mumbled and he let a short rumble of content be his response. 

The sound combined with a soothing wave of his pheromones had the little omega relaxing against him. Thankfully it was his metal arm and it didn’t really matter because it couldn’t go numb anyway. Though it probably wasn’t the most pleasant thing to be leaned against. He ended up having to grab the brownies from the table after Sunny had, once more, sunk into the cushions of the couch, but he wasn’t complaining in the slightest.

After eating the brownie, and without thinking about it, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders so she was leaning on his side instead of his metal arm and she stiffened for a moment. He realized with a jolt that he hadn’t asked and instead defaulted to what felt more natural, the omega seemed unsure of what to do.

“Is  this okay?” He whispered, watching for any reaction or sign that it wasn’t but the little omega only nodded slowly instead. 

His response was a low, pleased, growl accompanied with a gentle wave of his pheromones that made the girl relax once more and lean into his body where her much smaller form easily slotted against his. When he finally got a look at her face, he could tell she was still a little timid even though her scent was clearly oozing signs of a content omega.

“You can tell me no,” he insisted. Knowing that, at times, it was often the work of their second genders that pushed people into somewhat compromising situations. 

“No,” she mumbled, and he froze for a split second. “I like it,” her voice was so quiet he almost didn’t hear it over the sudden rush of uncertainty in his head. 

A soft trill left her and he smiled warmly at the sound, glad to know that the omega was happy to be so wrapped up in his scent. It was the closest he would get to scenting her without actually doing so, and he was so close to her mating gland that he could smell it without having to move much. He still wanted her in his lap, wanted to wrap his arms around her and make sure no one would be able to smell her scent over his. 

He noticed her small movements, when she would shift to adjust her legs into a more comfortable position, if her torso left his side for a moment, it felt colder than usual and he resisted tugging her back. Was his metal arm to heavy around her shoulders? Would it smell strongly of her after he left? Her scent gland was nearly touching his bicep, only blocked by her turtleneck, there was a good chance.

As the movie came to a close James realized he had maybe watched about half of it and comprehended even less than that, but Sunny was still leaning against him and that was all that mattered. Maren stood and grabbed a couple of their snack bowls to put things away and Annie followed, casting the alpha a suspicious glare that flared with a burst of her scent. 

“I should go help too,” Sunny mumbled next to him and he hummed in response. “Did you like the movie?”

“It was decent,” he said and she nodded. “Can I use the bathroom?”

“Yeah,” she said. “It’s right over there, next to my,  bedr -, you saw it earlier,” she corrected herself with a shake of her head. She left him then and went into the kitchen.

Their bathroom was small, with a shower and bath combo, sink, and toilet within close proximity of each other. He took the time to sniff his shirt and was happy when it smelled of the omega, a warm sweet scent that vibrated under his skin and seemed to heat it up instantly. For once, his inner alpha was pleased with how the night had gone.

Leaving the bathroom, he asked if he could help them clean or put anything away before he left for the night, not wanting to overstay his welcome. Annie looked at him as if he should already be gone, but he could sum that up to being the overprotective big sister figure of Sunny’s life. He was soon at the front door with the little omega following him out onto the small porch to say goodbye, shivering in the cold air that immediately turned their breaths into wispy puffs.

“Thanks for coming, it was fun,” she smiled.

“It was,” he grunted. “Thank you for inviting me over, Maren and Annie are nice, well,” he hesitated and she looked at him curiously. “Maren is,” she laughed at that.

“Annie takes some getting used to,” she agreed. “But she’s sweet. Next time we’ll let you pick the movie,” she promised and he nodded with a smile.

“Or we could do something at my place?” He offered. Hearing ‘next time’ was a great sign that things had gone well and he hadn’t accidentally pushed her the wrong way.

“Yeah, sure,” she hummed and he purred softly. 

She blushed and moved a step closer to him before closing the space between them and wrapping her arms around him with a little difficulty. Without hesitating he put his bag down and returned it, swallowing her in his hold as she grabbed at the back of his jacket with her small hands. It was a warm hug that felt somewhat tight, but good. Compared to the other day it was more natural and mixed their scents together even more as they clung to each other.

When he felt her fingers loosen, the alpha relaxed his hold and she let go slowly, looking away from him once more as he grabbed his stuff.

“Do you need any help getting the snow off your car?” She asked shakily.

“You’re not wearing any shoes,” he snapped and she let out a soft growl of irritation that made him chuckle. A small pout twisted her lips and he was reminded of what Bruce had said about the expression meaning she was put off, it was cute.

“I can put some on,” she muttered and he shook his head with a frown.

“Goodnight Sunny,” he said. With that he turned to walk down the steps towards his car on the other side of the street.

“Goodnight James,” she called after him. “Be careful on the roads.”

“I will,” he said back just as loudly.

After closing himself inside his car the little omega went back inside her house and he let out a deep sigh as their combined scents filled up the small space. He breathed it in deeply, reveling at the way that they mixed and how amazing it smelled. The title of the movie and plot were lost on him, but the feeling of her against him, her sounds, and her pheromones would stick with him for a long time. He thought about it as he got out to clear the snow off his windshield while thinking through the evening once more. 

He was already excited for the next opportunity to sit with her and hug her. This time the embrace had lasted at least twelve seconds and she was the one who had initiated it, which was a win if there ever was one.

Starting his car James realized the only thing he wasn’t excited about, which was how much Steve would bug him for information when he returned, and with how much they smelled of each other there was no way he would be able to gloss over it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the longer chapter makes up for how long it took me to write this...


End file.
